Starting Over: Adventures in Cielo
by NightFall00
Summary: Axel Koehler is among the only trainers left that were able to train at age ten, and seven years later, he's finally come home to the Cielo, but things never seem to get easier for him. Never mind the fact he has to cross the entire region to get back home, but with evil teams, people following him like they know him, and people from his past, everything is going nuts. OCs closed.
1. Starting Over, When Things Get Lost

Hey, guys, I'm back with a new story, and this one is going to work out just a bit differently. For the longest time I've tried to make stories that are based in an unmovable location, and I've always been trying to find a way to make my own journey story; a story with a pokémon trainer on the classic journey the franchise is known for. I was able to do it somewhat with my Black and White story, but now I think I have the formula to make this work out. This is OC submission as always, and there are certain traits I want you to follow, and this will manifest into specified forms that I'll give out for the purposes of the individuality of the characters. Now, I've never done a story like this, so bear with me, and maybe I can make this work. It takes place in a completely new region of my own design, but no fan made pokémon; I'm not that good. So, for now, please enjoy.

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKÉMON, BECAUSE IF I DID, HOENN WOULD'VE GOTTEN MORE PUBLICITY.**

* * *

Prologue: Starting Over, When Things Get Lost

Humans are creatures ruled solely on their own emotions; it makes us imperfect. Having a conscience often makes people seem weak, going against the parts of our bodies that make us truly competent beings, and yet, somehow, we survive. Nobody can be sure of why, but, for some reason, humans have lasted longer than most species, and always seem to bounce back after everything that happens to them. We're often considered the most violent of species in the universe, solving most of our problems with our fists, the weapons we create for war, and the pain we bring with thoughtless words, driving some people far beyond the edge of what we can handle. People often think of the perfect human as one who doesn't let their emotions influence their actions at any time in their life, but even this has flaws. A person cannot live with their emotions taken away, it doesn't make them human any longer, and this is where this story brings its inspiration, of people who teach and learn from others. My story isn't one where I was always the teacher, but instead I like to think I was taught much more than I was able to teach.

* * *

My story is a lot like others, for the most part, anyway. I began training pokémon when I was ten, just like anyone else you here about, in the Hoenn Region, selecting my Torchic as a starter. I was young, full of life, and enthusiastic, and ready to take on the rest of the world with my partner, catching all the pokémon in the world, just to prove to others that I could be someone special. My dream wasn't so different from any child beginning in this line of work, and yet, part of me always believes that I knew it was impossible. I just wanted people to look at me, and when I caught my first pokémon, that was I knew nothing would ever be the same again.

It's been seven years since I started training pokémon, and things are much different from that first, vital day. Things changed around the world, and it wasn't all because of me, but I knew about what was happening, and I wanted to be a part of it. I watched kids just like me, young and vivacious, save the world; something most adults could never do. They didn't use their pokémon, like so many of us did, and instead fought alongside them; looking at each pokémon as a precious partner and friend. They wanted to stay beside their pokémon, no matter how terrible things would become for them, and even after all of that, they never left their pokémon's side.

I wanted to be these people, but the danger they put themselves through was too much for some people; the violence that would be used against them sometimes became something that no man of law could ignore. All over the world, leaders of the world came together, and found that young children, barely into puberty, were being physically abused by people after losing battles, and thus the International Pokémon Association began to initiate stricter laws into becoming a trainer. First off, you had to be sixteen, at the youngest, by which time you were required to take at least three years of self-defense classes in one or more disciplines. When the IPA started this sweep through the different regions, they became arrogant, forgetting about the children that had already started their journeys, and instead, focused only on those that were to come, and not who already was.

In the time that the laws of training were being rewritten, my entire world began to fall down around me. Nobody cared about me, anymore, and instead just looked at me with pity in their eyes. In many cases, children that were under fifteen years of age at the youngest were taken from their present journey and sent back home, but for some reason, nobody wanted to come near me. Whether it was because they heard rumors about me, or because they wanted to see if I could do it was always up in the air, but I knew I wasn't the only one. There would be others like me who were left alone. Part of me believes that the IPA was running tests without our knowing, and seeing if they could lift on the ban if they saw us to be competent, even at our age, but even that gracious nature would soon cease for the rest of us.

* * *

After I turned thirteen, I had heard that those of us left alone from the IPA operatives were going to be found, and taken away from our journeys if we weren't of legal age. Everything was over for me, my chance at becoming a trainer, my chances of being one of the youngest to conquer the eight gyms in Hoenn, and my chance at ever finding my partner again. In my training, I have lost more than seven comrades to people who had their own agendas in mind, stealing another's pokémon, and making it sound completely legitimate, but the one that hurt the most was losing my starting pokémon to another person. I would pray for weeks that he was being treated right, but after I heard about the sweep of young trainers the IPA was going to do, I stopped caring.

For the three years prior, I was being taught a hard lesson about how things never are truly fair for us, and that life isn't meant to always be enjoyed. My life was over for training, and I decided to surrender to the government, have my pokémon confiscated, and then have them returned when I was finally old enough for the journey. Everyone else did it as well; giving themselves up to the government, and I knew it was the safest course of action for me, but even when I was going to turn myself, I felt something that held me back.

It wasn't a voice, nor was it an emotion I had felt before, but it was something different entirely. These men were coming in with pokémon large enough to level buildings and homes, something I'm sure they had done before to make sure there was no resistance, and it made me remember every time one of my own pokémon was stolen from me. I was done. I was done with it all. I was done with being pushed around, I was done with always looking like a scared little kid, and I was done, sick, and tired of having to hand over my pokémon just because someone who was bigger than me told me to.

So I fought. I wasn't loaded with pokémon like these men were, and still I fought against them, well enough some of them were sent back by a single one of my pokémon. It pained me every time one of my own would fall to the ground in front of me, defeated by these men who thought they had the authority to attack me, and still, I would fight them. I didn't defeat them all, but they were still stunned nonetheless. I just wanted it all to end; the looks of pity, the jeering, the bullying, and worst of all, the doubting. I could've spoken for hours about what I would see, and still no one would look at me as though I knew something. A loud voice will always fall on deaf ears if the voice is young. I wasn't trusted; I was kid who was breaking the rules; why would they trust me?

After they beat the last pokémon I had on hand, a total of four remaining, I had tried and succeeded to defeat only twenty percent of the men who came after me. The other eighty, whether they had pokémon or not, watched me as I returned my final pokémon to its ball. They were safe in their capsules, something I wish I could've felt that day. There were others, trainers like me who were going to be taken away, too young to understand what was happening, so the IPA said, and even as they were going to be taken back to their homes, the first good thing in three years in my life happened, and it was a sight I would never forget.

More than twenty trainers, most my age, some even younger, were fighting back. The Hoenn Region is one of peace to the world; the gang wars already having subsided, and here in front of me the remaining trainers were fighting back. They didn't have to try hard, if one of me could take out one fifth of the people against us, the rest of them were made short work of. Some of the trainers that fought back with me didn't even have to return one of their pokémon, all of them stood so valiantly, declaring to the world a single phrase, and one that I would never forget, even after all this time.

"We are Pokémon Trainers, and we always fight together with our friends," was what they said. Cheesy, while it may have been, it was still more powerful to me than any speech made by a politician, any phrase uttered from a great speaker, or any sentiment made by a loving mother. They were right, pokémon trainers and people who use pokémon are completely different. Our friends are the ones we fight with; to the others they stand as tools, ready to fight at our command. I wasn't sure which one I was at the time, but today I know which I am. I may have used pokémon in the past, and that's why I lost them, but today, I fight together with my friends.

* * *

Four years, almost to the day, was when that took place, and I'm seventeen now, and among the only group of people in the world left to have my license as a trainer survive what history books call the "Trainer's Purge." I don't give it some fancy name; I call it like I saw it. It was a time when a government thought it could control people to make them safe, and instead was just trying to control people in general, without any ulterior motives besides that. Since, I've done many things while training and each one has its own story, and new comrade behind it. I've also learned more than I expected; chief of which is that training pokémon is not meant to be easy, and there is no person to catch hundreds within a single year alone. I've been training for seven, and have only amassed twelve. I've learned that media warps people into thinking that way, that a pokémon is caught the very first time you battle it, and that's why I have always travelled alone. At least, until now.

As I woke up from my bed in the Pokémon Center, my rise to the barely appearing sun was quick; I don't like to waste time in my morning routine. By the time the sun had already appeared over the mountain side, I was dressed, fed, along with my pokémon, and ready to set out. I was no longer in Hoenn, I was in a different region; one that many people had never come to know about called the Region of Cielo, from the Spanish word meaning paradise. It was where I was originally born, and where the Purge began. My parents never wanted me to return to the Cielo Region, saying that it was a place where bad things happened every day, but then again, where doesn't that happen?

I was always known for being an early riser, calmly walking down the steps to the front counter of the Pokémon Center building, a single pokémon following after me, my Mightyena I called Jaeger. I came from the far eastern side of Cielo, where people speak my language more readily; German, but when I came in, I began from the far west, a heavier Spanish influence in the air. Jaeger is not my only pokémon, though, and it would be quite the wait before I would be able to get any of them back from the nurse on duty. I decided to stay in the lobby, and leave directly after the first opportunity arose.

Nothing happened in terms of movement for another two hours, by which point I was a stiff as a Metapod using Harden, and any movement caused my bones to crack back into a more comfortable position. The first people to wake from their sleep were just ordinary trainers, nobody that was of much notice for me, but apparently I was to them, be it my atmosphere or the pokémon lying down at my feet, catching a few more winks of sleep before we would head out. Nobody really said anything to me, but then again, I preferred that, not having to deal with people asking me how things were during the Purge.

* * *

Since the Purge ended, trainers that "survived" the forced removals were constantly hounded for their stories of what things were like, being alienated by their government, and whatnot. I was no different; nobody asked me about it any more or any less than another person, but the media still didn't care about age, and trauma. To the people around me I was a soldier that was to tell his war stories, but like many soldiers, I was too afraid to speak of what I had seen. Much of the Purge was never investigated by government officials, and even after four years since its ending, there are still those who feel the Purge must continue. The age limit of sixteen years of age for all trainers still exists, but some politicians argue that pokémon training is still too dangerous unless you are a well matured adult.

I watched the front desk, Jaeger's ears perking up as he looked up to see a woman walking towards it from the opposite side I was on, her hair a dull red color, wearing the same exact uniform as the rest of her family. Nobody has ever been quite sure of why all the nurses in the Joy family seem to be exactly alike, save for minute details only obsessive compulsives notice, and I'll admit it was a question I've pondered more often than not, but it wasn't my real concern. I walked up to the desk, handing her my trainer's license; it made it easier to retrieve my pokémon from the treatment room. Upon reentering the Cielo Region, all of pokémon had to be cleared; six of them would be going back to the lab of Professor Willow back in my hometown.

I had always known Willow as an eccentric woman, for the few years I knew her before moving away, always friendly with the rest of the townsfolk, and never tried to make what she said sound derogatory. She was a polite woman in her mid to late thirties, but on the subject of pokémon, she tended to become very opinionated, normally making loud and outspoken remarks on her theories in pokémon. She's considered an expert in pokémon pharmaceuticals, and also works as a practicing physician in our town, but it was a small one, so we worked with what we could. Many people in the Cielo Region will instead use facilities like Pokémon Centers and court houses to receive their licensing, and Willow had a habit of only allowing people from my hometown to access her pokémon.

The nurse returned a few minutes later with two trays, each one capable of holding six pokéballs, one of them short one, given Jaeger was already by my side. Handing back my trainer card, the nurse could only stare at my name curiously as I fished my wallet out to place the identification card back inside.

"Is your name really Axel Koehler?" the nurse asked as I nodded. "So it is true what they said about the Purge. There were some kids to make it through it," she said, the mere mention spoiling my already irritable mood. "My apologies, you must get talked to about this a lot."

"More often than I would like to admit," I said, reaching for the five pokéballs in one tray, and placing them on my belt before carrying the other tray towards the PC boxes.

One by one, I saw my pokéballs disappear into a flash of light, speeding through space, and rematerializing on another location I was an entire country away from. And yet, they could be brought back with the flick of a switch, but at the moment, I was more focused on leaving the Pokémon Center; in five minutes, the place would be crawling with people just starting out on their journeys, no idea what's in store for them. The only thing I could tell them for sure is that whatever they think they were prepared for, it wouldn't be enough.

After returning the tray where my six other pokémon were kept, I began to make my way out of the center, Jaeger following me closely, the sheen of his fur almost glistening in the morning sunlight. He always was vain, that one, but I knew that after I caught him seven years ago, as the first pokémon I caught on my journey. We knew Torchic the longest before it was taken away as a Combusken, and even if Jaeger refuses to admit it, I still believe he misses him the most. I had always kept Torchic outside of his ball, but after losing him, Jaeger decided to take my place as a sort of travelling buddy, a companion I could count on for when things got a little rough.

* * *

Just before leaving, I happened to look across the way to where a large full length mirror, stopping to stare at myself; in seven years, I was no longer the short, scared, skinny kid that knew nothing of what was going to happen to him. I had grown nearly two feet from four feet to my present height of six feet, and my body had become stronger, I was more muscular, but more from the constant travelling from trying. My hair had grown fairly long; I didn't have much time to go to a barber for a while, so my dark brown hair reached easily to the base of my neck, the sides down to the center of my cheeks in long, almost pointed strands, and just above my hazel eyes in a similar style as on the sides. My hair was mostly covered on the top, though, my habit of wearing a gray fedora ever present. Aside from that, I wore the same outfit I had for so long; a pair of blue denim jeans, a pair of hiking boots, and a black t-shirt underneath a thick green and brown flannel jacket.

* * *

I never looked at myself closely, it just made me think of times I could've been happier, and that really wasn't my thing anymore, so I figured I shouldn't make myself any angrier. Instead, I just walked out of the center, dodging past some other young people, only younger by me than a year, all excited for what they would be doing in the next few years of their life. Part of me wanted me to scream out to them, keep them from becoming like me, but if there was anything I learned from my time as a professional trainer, it was that people have to make their own mistakes, and it wasn't my place to make them for others.

Jaeger seemed to agree, looking at the others gathering at the center, the solemn look on his face returning to him, knowing that one of the choices for their pokémon choice was going to be what started me off. He was always so transparent, despite his attempts, but sometimes I wondered if he was trying. From everything I ever saw from him, I knew Jaeger was honest with himself and the rest of us when it really came down to it. We left the center just as morning had come into fill view, the way the sunlight bounces off of the mountains creating such a picturesque portrait I had to wonder if the world paradise was fitting for the region. Seeing that, though, you tend to think in favor of it. It would be at least three days before I would get the city near the foothills of those mountains on foot, so I began my trek.

Jaeger still seemed worried about me, he still remembered me when I was always smiling around him, but it was almost like he was afraid that side of me was gone forever. Maybe he was right, maybe he was wrong, I don't know; all I did know was that things were going to be different in this region, and no matter how much I wanted it, it would not all be for the better. But part of me still had hope; hope that maybe something would come along; helping me regain my own faith in what I was sure would be one of the most meaningful journeys of my life. Until we meet again.

* * *

Characters:

Axel Koehler: Mightyena, other Pokémon TBA. NightFall00

* * *

Prologue Complete. Well, there you have it, my first ever OC submit training journey story, and I am genuinely excited for it. There are still a few details I need to iron out, but so far, I think that this has turned out pretty well. Let me know what you think, and if you're interested in an OC submission, the instructions are on my profile, and a fair warning, this isn't going to be the regular form you guys are used to. So, I was able to bring in my darker elements into the mix with Axel's back story, but there's still a lot about him we don't know, so be ready for that, and also the stories of all of our OCs as well. I wish you luck on those, and welcome you to the Cielo Region. Until we meet again, ja nee.


	2. Meeting a Friend

Hey, guys, I'm back with the first chapter of my official journey story. Now, I've done this kind of story before, but not in the capacity of how I used to write. So, you can bet there's going to be a definite difference in how I write this compared to how I wrote by Black and White story. As of now I have all the positions of the Main Characters, Team Amazonia, the Gym Leaders, and Champion filled, and am still waiting on one more person to take the last spot for the Elite Four, but this chapter has nothing to do with them, so it isn't really a big deal right now. This chapter falls into my usual method of systematic introductions so you know who we're dealing with, and they don't slip from your mind, unless you just skim the story; then you won't get anything. I thank all of you who have submitted their characters to me, and in the following chapters, please let me know how I've done with them. I know I can goof up, so let's see.

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKÉMON, BECAUSE IF I DID, HOENN WOULD'VE GOTTEN MORE PUBLICITY.**

* * *

Chapter 1: Meeting a Friend

Have you ever noticed how people never seem to take "no" for an answer? A lot of times that can be seen as a good thing, but there's a very fine line between being persistent, or perseverant, and being just plain annoying. I've dealt with a lot of people that would pester me for something until they got it, and really that's less of a comment on their persistence, and more on my own personality. It's easier to give in to something than to fight it off, and normally people try to make that decision to just glow with the flow, not saying I'm not guilty of that myself. A lot of times when this happens, it can be taken at face value, but from what I've learned from my time out in the world, is that it's just dishonest. Despite how some people may react to it, honesty is always the best policy, until it becomes an insurance policy. Well, you pay for both in one way or another, but I digress. Sometimes, not being honest with a person can force them to make mistakes later in life because you decided to keep them from something. Let's just say that sugarcoating something never makes things better.

* * *

The route leading from Magnolia Town was the kind you see anywhere that a new trainer would call paradise. Weak pokémon, low levels, perfect training for a newbie, it almost made the name of the region ring true. Most of the people on the routes had probably been there for a few hours, some of them trainers for only that time, judging from the cleanliness of their clothes, and the lack of self-stitching that had adorned my own clothing. A lot of them did stare, though, and it wasn't just because of my good looks, either; it was Jaeger. Magnolia Town had always been known as a place for new beginnings, but seeing a trainer my age, very close to their own, with a pokémon at that advanced stage, made others look at me the way they always did. They were both sacred and amazed that I had a Mightyena, much less one that was always shining in the mid-morning sun.

I guess I was still young, though, only seventeen; a mere year older than the rest of these people, so the idea of me having a Mightyena walking out of its ball may have been a bit too much for them to bear. I don't know what annoyed me more by this time, the whispering everyone was giving each other to the friends they were travelling with, the headstrong remarks of how they could "take me," or the constant giggling of the girls far off behind me that cut through the rest of the noise like a knife to an apple. Many of them looked at me for just as I was on the outside, they didn't know anything about me, what I had seen, what I had witness, what I had felt. That was one of the effects of the Purge; everything was made to look like nothing really did happen. All I knew was they didn't know anything.

The route was long as I walked along the center of it, seeing all kinds of pokémon poking their heads out to look at Jaeger; he was a natural leader. Stoic and calm, there was little that could surprise him and since losing Combusken, he had taken on the role as leader of all of my pokémon in group battles. I continued walking down the beaten pathway for trainers who simply wanted to pass through, and eventually reached a large clearing. I'd been walking for a few hours, so I figured I would stop and take a break, maybe find some more water before I headed back out, my canteen was getting low.

The next town after this one would be Hibiscus City, but that was still a two day walk form where I was, and my bike, unlike me, was shipped to my hometown on the other end of the region. My only concern was if somebody had stolen it for parts; Hoenn bikes are pretty rare in this part of the world, and a Mach Bike was just overkill. At any rate, I was able to hear running water to the north of me, and made my way there; Jaeger could hear it to, motioning for which direction I should take. After that it was child's play from the wild Marill running up and down the path in front of us.

The bank of the stream was easy enough to find, and the water was clean, and safe for drinking; Jaeger wouldn't lead me to a place that would get me hurt. I took a few drinks of it from my hands before filling my canteen full of water, enough to last me until tomorrow, anyway. I let Jaeger have a large drink from the river, and decided that maybe my other five pokémon deserved it, as well. Just as I was about to let them out, I heard something that I knew couldn't have been good, a girl shrieking. It was close, maybe a bit further down river, past where anyone could see, and situations like that can only go two ways. When I got there, I was slightly thankful that it wasn't the worst possible case, but it still ranked up there, simple bullying of rookie trainers.

It wasn't a new concept, older trainers would gang up on a new trainer, and shake them down for their money, or anything else they had, intimidating them into submission, but that didn't seem to be the case. Aside from the sudden shriek, most likely from the surprise of being jumped right then and there, the other wasn't as scared as much as she was angry. I was out of sight, but I would stick close, in case this took a bad turn.

* * *

I wasn't sure of how much a new trainer she was, but it was painfully obvious from her skin tone. After training for a few years your skin becomes naturally tan like mine was, hers was slightly paler in comparison. She was of average height for her age, five and a half feet, and she was slim, so decent looking for a lot of guys. Her hair was a natural orange color, maybe a bit darker than the kind you find from a bottle, with a small amount of reddish tint, reaching back to her shoulders, and down near her eyes messily form her bangs. Her eyes, now that made her distinctive, were a light blue color, but it was the expression; they weren't scared, but more intense in their position, she was unmovable. She wore a pretty basic outfit for trainers, the top of a track suit left open colored black with yellow accents, a black t-shirt underneath, a pair of blue jeans like me, and a generic pair of white sneaker.

* * *

"What do you two want?" the girl asked, her voice was pretty feisty, but that anger only seemed to incite the men even more; some guys are just idiots, what else can I say?

"Come on, cutie," one of the two men said, lifting up her head by the chin, a small tint of red covering the girl's cheeks slightly. "You're obviously new at this game, why don't we show you how things are done?" he asked suggestively; somehow my theory about them bullying her wasn't looking so hot. "What do you say to that?"

"I say 'drop dead'," the girl said flatly, swinging her right leg around, striking the first man in his shin, the pain travelling through his body as he crouched down to hold his leg in pain. Needless to say, I was actually kinda impressed. "There's more where that came from, you scum!" the girl said, her feisty attitude attracting the other man as he grabbed her arm.

"Well, now this just keeps getting more and more interesting," the second man said as the girl spun around slightly, trying to kick him as well, but his eye was too quick; catching her leg before it could come within three inches of his body. "Something tells me that we're gonna have some fun with this one, all right."

By this point, the girl's anger had reached a boiling point, struggling in every direction it possibly could, some of which I didn't even know were possible, but the second man's grip was too tight. All of her attempts were futile, but her resolve was strong; she didn't want to give up, and neither of them had seen me, yet, making it all the more perfect for me. Jaeger was all set to go at them, but part of me wanted to torment them a bit more than I wanted to grind them to a pulp, so I pulled one of my pokéballs, marked at the top with a carved-in triangle.

"I'm telling you to let go of me, right now, or you'll be sorry!" the girl kept shouting, the first man finally coming back up to his feet, grabbing her by the other arm. "Let me go!"

"It's just too easy now isn't it?" the second man asked, feeling a sudden tap on his shoulder, as he brushed it off, looking at his partner. "What do you want?" he asked, the first one looking at him confused, as I could barely contain myself.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, turning back to the girl, also confused, seeing him brush of a similar poking sensation off of his shoulder, looking back at his partner in crime. "Okay, now I know it has to be you, who else is there?" he said to the other, the second man denying it as they both turned back to the girl, feeling another tap on both of their shoulders at the same time. "Will you-," the first said as the second turned his head at the same instant, seeing a single, completely circular head in between them, a smug look on its face.

"What the-," the second man exclaimed as he looked behind them, seeing two identical heads, but with different expression on them. "Where did this thing come from?" he asked, the three heads of my pokémon all coming up, staring down at the girl from about five inches taller than her. "I never heard of a wild Dodrio in these parts, before."

"Astute observation," I said from my hiding place, walking beside my Dodrio, still chuckling slightly at how easily they were fooled. "Isolated locations like this are common for this kind of activity, most of it consensual, but I have a sneaking suspicion that this is not necessarily the case," I said, patting the bird pokémon's body, all three heads staring down at the three men as they released their grip on the girl. "What do you say to a fair fight, then?" I suggested.

"I'll make short work of you, kid," the second man said, the girl backing away, and ran towards the same side of where I was at. "Both me and my friend have been training for three years. I don't think a brat with a couple of weaklings like a flightless bird, and a stupid dog will have much effect on us," he said, a small twitch noticeable in my eye as I removed my hat, and handed it off to the girl.

"Jaeger, do you mind?" I asked, cracking my knuckles as both of my pokémon stood out in front of me, Jaeger not taking the comment about him too lightly as I could see the girl's eyes brightening up with anticipation. "You know what else isolated areas are good for?" I asked.

"Like we would know," the first man said, as both of them held up a single pokéball.

"There are no witnesses, usually," I said as Jaeger began to open his jaw, a small black mass appearing within it jaws as Dodrio did the same, three distinct elements forming in each of its mouths. "Jaeger, _Spukball,_ and Dodrio, Tri-Attack," I said calmly, both of them surprised at my commands, despite their not having any pokémon in front of them. "You reap what you sow, you know."

At the snap of my finger, Jaeger launched the Shadow Ball attack from within its fangs, and Dodrio did the same with the triple element attack at the two men, a look of definitive fear on their eyes. Both of them tried to throw their pokéballs in a mad panic, but were quickly cut off by the pressure to their bodies, one of them being a sudden blunt strike to their stomach while the other was treated to a mixture of rapid changes from intense to heat, and then to cold before being exposed to a quick strike of electricity. Even though the first had already fallen from the Shadow Ball attack, the victim of Dodrio's Tri-Attack took a while. I had to assume it was the electrical charge, nonlethal, but still effective, seeing his body spasm for a few seconds before falling to the ground, but even then he wasn't done with his shaking.

At any rate, it no longer had anything to do with me, grabbing my hat from the girl, grabbing the wide frame of the top to place it on my head. I stayed there for a few seconds, letting Dodrio's all three heads get a drink before I would put them back in the ball and head out again. Quite the side stop, actually, it was fun to beat up on those two. I'd call them in later, but aside from that, I had nothing to do with what was happening here, looking back at the girl, winking as I left. She was still a little more than amazed, still seeing both of the men groaning in pain, her eyes wide with excitement as she looked up at me hiking up out through the forested area reaching back to the route. This whole thing probably would probably make my trek to Hibiscus City another half day longer, but I just took a deep breath, and left.

"Hey!" I heard the girl call out, waving at me as I tipped hat, thinking that was it as I walked back through the forest, eventually reaching the main route. "Hey, I was talking to you!" the girl shouted a little angry, practically bursting through the branches and brush, some of the other trainers on the route surprised by the sudden appearance. "You do all that and don't even give me your name?"

"You say it like that, and you expect people to _not_ take it the wrong way?" I asked, pointing back at the others on the route, barely able to hold in their embarrassment at the implications of what she said. "May want to be more careful of what you say in the future," I said, seeing her completely red face from figuring out what I was talking about. "If that's all-…"

"I'm not finished with you yet!" she shouted, even more angry, but more like the kind of way a small child would. "Who are you? You can't be much older than any of us, and you already have two fully evolved pokémon. You're not an ordinary trainer. You may have saved my life, but I don't think you can be all mysterious about everything to try to act all cool."

"How about I go with it a different way, then?" I asked, the girl waiting for a response. "Beat it," I said flatly, every trainer including the girl shocked at how easily I was able to say that part, seeing me walk away with Jaeger following by my side, giving a sneer to the girl, making her even more frustrated as she kept her cheeks puffed out with her face still red, either from embarrassment or anger; my money was on the second one.

"I'm not letting you get away, do you hear me!?" the girl shouted back at me, after her initial anger had finally passed. "I will keep following you until you agree to talk to me like you should've down in there!" she shouted, every single training looking down in the bushes, the quick realization of what she said made her blush wildly. "I didn't mean it the way it sounded!" That was fine; I wasn't listening by this point, anyway. All I did know was that she was following for a good part of the day, my mood not exactly brightening up.

* * *

Have you ever had a pet that you didn't really want to be your pet, but it just kept following you around? Well, that's how I was feeling as soon as this girl began chasing after me. She tried to keep herself from being seen, but let's just say her being a novice at best was more than painfully obvious. Hiding behind trees works so much better when you don't crouch down by them, and show the other half of your body. I still didn't know her name, what pokémon she had on her, or why those guys were after her in the first place, but in retrospect the last one may have been obvious if I just thought about it; not that I really wanted to.

As soon as I had walked to another clearing, it was nearing evening time, so I figured it would be a good place to stop and rest for a while, maybe set up camp if it got too dark. It was the fall months, so that was more than a possibility. Jaeger stayed behind at the small place I picked out, guarding my bag and canteen, especially from the girl keeping herself hidden behind a tree, spying at our little spot. Jaeger kept her away with a mere growl if she tried to walk too close, but I wasn't worried he would attack her; he acts tough, but he has a real soft spot for the ladies.

I came back about a half hour later, holding a small pile of kindling in my arms, and I could see the girl watching me still. It was like she hadn't moved in hours, but I knew even that bliss wouldn't last forever. The food in my pack would've lasted me a week so I could get to the next city, but from the progress I made from back then when I first saw her, I would be there in two days; way too much food and it would've been useless if I let it go bad in that time. I lifted my eyes as I began making a small ring of stones as a makeshift hearth, as the girl watched me intensely; she was determined, and I was getting tired of this, so one of had to cave.

"You want to come over here if you're getting hungry?" I asked. Apparently it would be me. "I've got enough for both of us, and my pokémon only eat berries, so this can of pokémon food is useless to me," I said, hailing her over as she took a step forward; Jaeger didn't approve, but knew that my word would be a law for him to follow. Not that I think about it like that, but I have to admit, it's kinda neat to say it like that. "So, you never told me you name," I said, sitting down on one of the large logs in the clearing as she did the same.

"Why would I?" the girl asked, almost rudely, but I understood her confusion.

"It's common courtesy to name yourself before you ask it of others," I said, reaching for another of my pokéballs. "If you want to know my name, it'd be better if you just tell me yours first." I was skeptical of her telling me, but it never hurts to ask.

"…Rose," she answered; why she hesitated I don't know. "My name is Rose Parrish. I'm from Hibiscus City, and I've been training in between these two towns for the past few months to get ready for a gym battle in Hibiscus," she finished completely; not sure that I needed the complete commentary. "And you?" she asked; she had me there, I did say I would.

"Axel," I said. "I'm Axel Koehler. I'm originally from Gentian Town, but I just came back to the Cielo Region about a week ago," I explained, Rose looking at me a bit confused. "I've been living in the Hoenn Region for a little more than twelve years, if memory serves."

"Did you train in the Hoenn Region before you came back here?" Rose asked; she was genuinely fascinated with me. I know I can be quite remarkable, but I never thought someone would be this interested in my life story. "I had heard about a lot of trainers who had their pokémon taken away from them during that thing a few years ago. Did you hear about that?" I was hesitant to answer; talking about the Purge wasn't something that I brought up in conversation.

"Yeah, I heard about it," I said, kind of lying, but I don't she could've understood, she would've been about as old as I was when it happened. "Hoenn and Sinnoh were hit the most after it stopped in Cielo, am I right?" I asked, and I could see Rose becoming a bit angrier.

"The government was hurting pokémon, I know they were," Rose said; she wasn't too far off, and it was that part that made me sick to my stomach. "They took pokémon away from people, and expected them to just sit by, and take it. I'm glad the rebellion started in the Hoenn and Sinnoh Regions; they were the first step to finish off whatever lasting relic of the Purge was left, and I would've gladly joined them," Rose said, and I fell silent. The rebellion against the government was caused by people like me; we were self-righteous in our own way, believing ourselves to be the only way to true peace with pokémon. "What about you? What happened to you during the Purge?" Why did she have to ask that question?

"It was a few years ago, and I can barely tell you what I had for breakfast this morning," I lied, looking at the position of the sticks. "Now I just have to light the fire," I said, reaching for another pokéball, only for Rose to cut me off with her own; throwing it to the ground with a small fire type pokémon normally used as a starter by others; a Cyndaquil.

"Let Mitsuru and I help you with this," Rose requested as I let her, and within seconds a blaze was lit on the dried leaves underneath the tower of sticks, her Cyndaquil, Mitsuru, happily looked back up at its trainer, Rose taking the fire type in her arms. "So, how long have you and your Mightyena been together?" she asked, obviously she was determined to learn more about me. "I noticed you told it to use an attack, and I didn't really know what was coming out." It was an easier question to answer, and one I had no problem answering.

"When I started training, my skills in other languages were still limited, and I had to teach my earlier pokémon how to accept commands in my native tongue, German," I explained, Jaeger grumbling happily as I stroked his head, Rose keeping her Cyndaquil wrapped in her arms. "Jaeger itself is a German word, meaning 'hunter.' But after a while, I was able to speak languages like English and Japanese for when I was training in Hoenn, so Jaeger's the only one who responds to my commands in German, anymore," I explained, quickly realizing what I said.

"But you said that _all_ your earlier pokémon listened to your German commands, so what about them?" she asked; she was smarter than I gave her credit for. She was able to pick and choose information out of my words without even thinking of them. "What happened to your other pokémon?" It didn't really matter to me if I did tell anyone, but chances are that a girl like this would take the fact that I'm of the Purge the wrong way. "Well?" This girl was more determined than ever, having caught me like a Shellder on a Slowbro. Only one thing was obvious, I had to think of some way out of it, otherwise, she'd know I was lying from the start.

"They're not with me, right now," I answered; not technically a lie. "When I got here, I had to have all my pokémon take physical exams before I could travel here, and I transferred some of them back to my home in Gentian." Again, not a lie, just a slight, and unfortunate, stretching of the truth to save my own skin; unethical, I know, but the Purge warped me.

She seemed to accept that, clutching onto her pokémon playfully as she saw me place a small pot from my bag over the open fire, mixing in the contents of my dinner in the pan, shaking it continuously to cook it thoroughly. She was satisfied for now, so maybe I'd be able to keep my identity safe from her; the Purge Trainers around the world tend to not get so much respect from others, but I knew it wouldn't be long before she was asking more questions.

"Do you travel alone?" Yep, told you. "Does it get really lonely with just you and your Mightyena travelling around?" she asked, and I wasn't really sure how to answer; I'd always travelled alone, and I never really thought of it as lonely, but her words were weighted; she had her own agenda in that question.

"Why do you ask?" I questioned, a direct approach might throw her off enough to make her lose track of her own question.

"Well, you seem to be a very interesting person, and I was wondering if maybe…," she started, looking slightly embarrassed by what she was going to say, making my nerves fire on all ends, knowing the question that would follow. "You'd like to be my travelling companion." Saw that coming. It's a common question people ask when they're starting out as trainers, and while the idea sounded tempting, I had my own agenda, and it didn't involve babysitting a little girl.

"Sorry, it's not my thing," I answered calmly, hoping she'd give up, but it was as though she didn't hear me. "Why do you think it'd be good for me to travel with you?" I asked, Jaeger snickering at me with a mere look of the eye, making me glare back at him.

"You know a lot more about pokémon than I do right now, and I want to see how strong you can really be in battle," Rose answered. "I think you might even be powerful enough to take on the Pokémon League Challenge, and become a good candidate for the new Champion, second to me, of course."

"Of course," I repeated, rolling my eyes. "Sorry, but that's not really my thing, either. I'm just interested in going back to my hometown, and have a nice long rest from all of this. So, thanks, but no thanks. We say our goodbyes in the morning, Ms. Parrish," I said, Rose giggling slightly at how I referred to her; I'll admit it was archaic, but I didn't want to imply a closeness between us as I moved the pan away from the fire, placing a collapsible stand in front of me to place our dinner onto. "Dig in," I said, passing Rose a plate of food as she began to happily eat it up, her Cyndaquil practically diving into its dish of food, and Jaeger contently eating a few of the wild berries from the area.

* * *

I finished first, letting out a satisfied sigh as I began gulping water from my canteen, Rose doing the same from a metal water bottle; she was more well prepared than I thought she originally was. She took a bit more time to eat; I admit that prepackaged stuff just doesn't cut it sometimes, but I admired her for sticking it to the end as I rolled out my sleeping bag. She did the same, so she obviously had a vague idea of what she was doing, and what not to do to get yourself killed. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it didn't look like I'd have to babysit if I agreed to take her along with me. All she did to prepare for sleep was take off her shoes and jacket, nestling herself in as comfortable as she could until look towards me, instantly turning red at the sight of me.

I admit, it's a strange habit, but I always prefer my shirt off while sleeping, and I guess the sight of me was a bit too sudden for her, seeing the compact muscles of my body mere feet away from her as I rolled up the zipper from the inside, Jaeger lying down next to me, sleeping like most canines did while Mitsuru, Rose's Cyndaquil, climbed into the bed with her, and that's when I noticed it. Rose's Cyndaquil was different from others; not as an alternative coloration, but just in the way that made it far from an obvious choice of pokémon. As I lie there awake, looking up at the stars in the sky, I tried to the last time I had felt this way; familiar, and wanted. Rose was an interesting person; she had a good head on her shoulders in the way she was always prepared, and the way she cared for her pokémon. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to travel around with someone, but something like that wasn't an option for me; she had her own goals, and I had mine, and they didn't converge.

* * *

As the daylight came up, I was the first one to wake up; Rose and I were alone, rather to say, nobody disturbed us in our sleep; all of my items were still there, and Rose's were as well; both of our pokémon were left alone during our sleep, but for one them, I think it was more of one of those under penalty of death things, and nobody stole our clothes; I've had problems with that before. I unzipped my sleeping bag, and didn't bother to put my shirt back on, walking back down to the riverbed, letting Rose and the others sleep a little later before I took off. I filled my canteen for the next half of the day before I'd refill, and did the same with Rose's water bottle; it'd last her for another few hours before she had to fill it up again.

I began to make my way back to our campsite, and then noticed the other trainers camping in their own sleeping bags; I guess it was heartening to know that people weren't above camping out, but something else caught my eye, making me almost run back to where Rose was. It was those two men from earlier; obviously I hadn't hurt them as bad as I was hoping, and now came the second part of all of that; violent aggression. Rose was still there when I got back, nothing had happened, and she was still sleeping, not knowing what was going on, and it was better that she didn't, ever. I figured that I had only time to grab Dodrio's pokéball before running out; Jaeger, even for me, is a grumpy riser. They wanted either Rose or me, and I had to take the gamble it was me, keep Rose out of it.

Back along the riverbank, the two men were looking down at everyone in their sleeping bags, passing them over when they found that they weren't who they were looking for. At least they had the decency to leave others out of it; we were of one mind on that one, and as they looked through the forest to see me standing before them, they pointed out at me, and I knew I was their target. Thank goodness, I didn't want to see Rose hurt because of me.

"You're gonna pay for what happened earlier, brat!" the first man shouted, rousing some of the young trainers from their sleep. "We're not gonna let you go that easily for ruining our fun, yesterday!" he continued, all the trainers in the area, hearing his voice, quickly running away from the area, but stopping at the edge of the denser parts of the forest.

"This time, we're gonna battle like we should have, instead of having you attack us instead of our pokémon," the second man said a bit calmer; obviously he was the leader of that little duo. "Unless you're too afraid to battle like a man," he said mockingly as I showed off my pokéball, the triangle pattern carved into the face making the other trainers watch me in amazement. "On the path," he said, all three of us walking up to the beaten path, both of them showing their own pokéballs. "How does a double battle sound to you?"

"At the moment, a little impossible," I admitted, both of them laughing at me. "I don't force my pokémon into anything they wouldn't agree with, so if it's only Dodrio going to battle, so be it," I said, throwing out my pokéball, the three headed bird stomping on the ground, each of his beaks releasing a similar sound in unison as the two men did the same, throwing their capsules to the ground; releasing a Graveler, and a Delibird; both pokémon strong against my own.

"This is gonna be easy," the first man said, the second chuckling as they heard a series of small steps behind me, making me turn around at the same time, my face suddenly covered by a large piece of fabric; my shirt. "What now?" he asked, seeing a small fire type enter the battlefield beside Dodrio. "You gotta be kidding; talk about getting two with one stone."

"Two against one is cheating," somebody said from beside me; I didn't have to take the shirt off my face to know who it was. "If you insist on fighting in an unfair manner, than I think I have the right to intervene, and help the one you're ganging up against," she said, looking back over at me, blushing slightly as she motioned to my shirt. "Please put it on," she said as I complied; I could tell a few of the female members of the audience were disappointed. "And of course," she said, holding out the brim of my hat, making me chuckle.

"Of course," I repeated, flipping it over twice before placing it on my head.. "Dodrio, let's make sure that Mitsuru's help isn't wasted," I said, the flying type nodding in understanding with all three of their heads. "When you're ready, unless you're afraid of fighting a fair fight?" I asked in the same way the second man did. "We'll move first; Dodrio, Tri-Attack!" I called out, Dodrio preparing the attack.

"Mitsuru, Smokescreen!" Rose shouted, the flame on the fire type's back suddenly rising up as it released a large cloud of smoke over the battlefield from within its own mouth, covering the entirety of the scene, disallowing either of the men, and their pokémon, to discern anything from within the thick smog.

As both Graveler and Delibird waited for some kind of movement, both were caught off guard by a small explosion from behind them, parts of the smokescreen began to blow up behind them. Hearing this all around them, both pokémon looked forward for only a second at another set of lights, figuring it to be the same distraction, only for it to be something quite different. Speeding towards them, the Tri-Attack I had instructed them to use had been shot from Dodrio, ripping through what remained of Mitsuru's smokescreen, the fiery corner of it causing the same explosions, impacting with Delibird, sending the ice type back a few feet out of the smog.

"Mitsuru, Flame Wheel!" Rose shouted from the other side, Delibird and its trainer looking in all directions, until they looked directly upward, the small form of Cyndaquil's body beginning to spin as fast as it possibly could, the fire from its back beginning to spread to the rest of its body, creating a move obvious to its name.

"Delibird, Present!" the man shouted, the ice and flying type reaching into its pouch-like tail, and producing a small circular item, throwing it up at Mitsuru, exploded in mid-air directly in front of the fire type, knocking it off balance, and down into the remaining cloud of smoke at the bottom. "Now we got 'em," the first man said as the second motioned for him to do something bigger; something he was all too eager to do. "Delibird, Blizzard!" he shouted, Rose looking at me worried as I stayed motionless.

As Delibird jumped into the air in front of Graveler, it opened its mouth as wide as it could, blasting a large amount of ice and snow to bludgeon our two pokémon, but even a blind man could tell that it was meant for me. At the same instant, the rock pokémon they had out, the Graveler, began striking the ground wildly, kicking up all kinds of stones, and then throwing them all over the area, giving both Rose and myself absolutely no room to dodge. I could tell that Rose was nervous about this; she'd only been training for a few months, and this was obviously her first time in a battle of this magnitude. She'd done more than enough to get me this far; it was my turn.

"Dodrio," I started. "Mirror Move to block and attack at the same time," I said calmly, Dodrio nodding in understanding as it stepped out in front of both attacks, its eyes shooting open.

As its eyes began to glow in a spectral white color, Dodrio opened all threw of its mouths, each one calmly releasing an attack similar to what the opponent's Delibird had just done. With the two Blizzard attack bashing against each other, the block back of ice and snow in the center helped to block some of the rocks being thrown by Graveler, Dodrio's far right head snaking its way down underneath the rest of the attacks, shooting its copied Blizzard attack at Graveler. Seeing the blast of snow coming towards it, Graveler tried to move to the side, but found that path blocked by another Blizzard attack from Dodrio's left side head, the center head having more than enough power to fight back the Delibird. All I had to do was snap my fingers, and Dodrio's two side heads angled themselves at each other, blasting Graveler on both sides with a powerful ice attack.

It wasn't beaten, but the attack forced Delibird away from Dodrio, and down to help its wounded partner. Graveler's body was frozen in some areas, and was barely able to stand up past that attack, both of the men looking at Dodrio, and then at me, seeing my Mightyena had finally caught up with the rest of us, growling; either out of anger or frustration from not being in the battle; my money was on the second one. I could tell the others were in shock of what I just did, Rose especially; having an evolved pokémon was enough as it was, but for one to be able to use an attack to such a capacity, the truth was bound to come out sooner or later.

"Who are you supposed to be?" the second of the two men asked, seeing his Graveler stand back up. "No trainer your age could pull of those maneuvers; to have so much faith in a single head of a Dodrio means you would've had to spend years training that."

"Getting warmer," I said. "My name is Axel Koehler; perhaps that means something to either of you," I said, both of them suddenly shivering at the sound of my name; obviously it did, and I knew that Rose was going to find out a very ugly truth about me.

"Y-You're the one who started the rebellion on Hoenn, aren't you?" the first man said, his body shaking like his partner's pokémon. "You're the one that started the end of Purge four years ago," he said, the other trainers in the area, Rose included, looking at me with either looks of shock, disgust, or amazement, to which Rose was the only one. Like I said, we don't get a whole lot of good publicity when it comes to who we are.

"You're one of the trainers from the Purge?" Rose asked instantly as I nodded. "Why didn't you tell me something about it earlier?"

"If you saw what I did, you'd know why," I said, looking back in front of me. "As for now we have some loose ends to tie up in this battle, and then I'm leaving," I said bluntly, Rose looking back at me with her own version of shock. "Dodrio, Tri-Attack," I said calmly as Rose nodded to Mitsuru, the small fire type rolling itself back into a small ball before spinning again, end of end to completely immerse itself within its own flames.

As Dodrio fired its Tri-Attack into the air, Mitsuru began speeding down the way to the two pokémon, rolling along the ground like an actual wheel before ramming its circular form into Delibird, the ice type quickly blow back to Graveler again as the rock type had still yet to completely thaw out. As Delibird tried to reposition itself, it looked up at the same instant that the Tri-Attack had just come upon them, feeling the same sensations one of their trainers felt when I used it on him. With both experience the extreme temperature of heat and cold, Graveler had been defeated directly after the cold sensation, the change in temperature too much for it to handle. Like before, though, the other experience the strain of electricity before it fell. Its spastic movements prolonging its fall to the ground before I simply walked away, Rose still not happy.

* * *

I had made it back to the campsite just before Rose, the younger trainer staring at me as I fit my jacket over my shoulders, and fit my arms through the sleeves. All my supplies were ready, and I had only to fit my sleeping bag back inside of my own bag; rolling it up to find Rose's foot directly over the center. She was mad, alright, but to me it didn't matter; I had my reasons, and she didn't need to know them.

"Talk," she demanded as I pursed my lips; maybe she did need to know them. "Why didn't you tell me you were from the Purge? And don't give me the same answer you did from before."

"I don't owe you anything, except for my thanks in that battle," I said, resting my back against the log in the clearing. "The better question is why do you even care about me being from the Purge?" I asked, Rose about to answer, but unsure of how. "People usually say that they're either afraid, or fascinated by the unknown. You obviously fall into that second type; you have to know, and you'd be willing to do anything if it meant you could figure out something. Tell me why you're so fascinated with Purge," I said as she heaved out a large sigh.

"Seven years ago when the Purge started, I was getting ready to start training my own pokémon," Rose said. "And when the IPA nut bags decided it was better to hold it off, that pedestal I had tried to reach for years had become even further away. The Purge didn't just affect you people, fighting to keep your pokémon instead of getting carted off with the rest of them, it affected us too; people who weren't allowed to fight back like you were."

I didn't say anything past that; she was unmovable on her opinions, that much I had learned from spending the time I had with her. I still didn't want to travel with her; I didn't deserve to be with any other person at this time in my life; and she didn't deserve the fate of being with a person like me. She would hold to her opinions futilely, and I would just leave; that's how this was supposed to work. But she stayed constant, and while I expected that, I looked back down at Mitsuru, and understood more and more about what she had gone through.

"Tell me why," I said, Rose looking at me with a confused look on her face. "Tell me why, out of everything I've said to you, everything I've done to make you hate me, and every lie I told you, you want to come with me. I know you hate liars; I see it in your eyes. So why me?"

"When I look at you," Rose started. "There's this funny feeling I get; you know what I want to, and if I can travel with you, then I can learn more about what happened during the Purge. People have been kept from the truth long enough, and now I have the chance to tell them everything."

"If that's your only reason, then I refuse with every fiber of my being," I said, standing up, Jaeger walking beside me. "Do you know why people turn on governments?" I asked; I knew Rose didn't. "It's because of people who think they can actually fight them. We were a bunch of stupid kids; thinking that what we did made the world a better place. We just made it worse; people thought we were saviors, righteous leaders for taking the initiative. We were soldiers; we fought to protect what we thought was right, and I'm not even sure if we were."

Rose didn't say anything, but I knew she was angry; she seemed to get that way a lot. She looked like she wanted to say something, but I knew that she would trip over her words. I knew she was affected by the Purge, as well, but she could never understand what I went through; no one ever could.

"Seeing as your staying so quiet, I'm just gonna head out," I said, tipping the brim of my hat before walking away from Rose, suddenly hearing a shot ring out, a small fireball speeding past my ear. "I guess you're not done," I said, looking back at her with Mitsuru's back still burning with the same fire it always had.

"You think you're the only one that went through difficulty in your pokémon training?" Rose said challengingly. "Then prove to me that you can beat me with any of your pokémon. Show me what the real effect of the Purge was!" she demanded as I reached for my belt, pulling out another pokéball, this one with a kind of halo carved deeply on the face.

"Shedinja, we'll finish this fast," I said, the pokéball releasing a white light that receded to reveal a large cast of a cocoon. "Come at me, then."

"Mitsuru, Ember!" Rose called out, the small fire type releasing a small blaze from its mouth towards the vulnerable bug and ghost type. "What were you thinking by putting him out here against me? Shedinja can only be decent in their ability, but against a fire type like Mitsuru, you won't be lasting long," she said as I stayed quiet, not letting her voice reach me.

"Shadow Sneak," I said without a second thought, Shedinja quickly disappearing into a black shape, the Ember passing directly over where it should've been. "Simply knowing a pokémon's weakness to something isn't going to help you defeat me in this battle. Battling with pokémon is based on elements that are beyond the physical," I said, snapping my fingers as Shedinja tackled Mitsuru from behind the fire type.

As this continued, the constant attack from points that neither Rose, nor her pokémon could find, began to take their toll, Mitsuru barely able to stand as Shedinja melted back into the shadows to attack again. Travelling across the ground within the already cast shadows from the morning sun, Shedinja saw its target, and was about ready to attack when we both heard Rose shout out.

"Mitsuru, attack everywhere!" she shouted, the Cyndaquil nodding, beginning to turn on all sides, blasting random shots of Ember in all directions, making it impossible to tell where it would come out next. "If I can't find you, maybe I can do this much," she said as I kept staring straight. "How about that?"

"Patterns are created inadvertently," I said. "Nothing is truly random, and after a few times around, I can tell when your Cyndaquil will attack next," I said, snapping my fingers once more; the tackle was short, to the point, and didn't leave much room for negotiation as to what happened. I had won the battle, and like I said, it would be fast; faster than dealing with those two idiots, and faster than the time it took me to walk out of there. "I'm not going to pretend that what you chose to do in the end wasn't impressive, or at least inventive, but in the end, you don't know what training through the Purge was like. It's not as if it's like training with your friends in friendly battles. Back then, battles were about survival, and if you couldn't do that much, your pokémon were taken away from you. You want to know why it's only Jaeger that listens to me in German? It's because he's the only one left that was around at that time."

* * *

I began to walk away, and this time, Rose didn't follow me, but I couldn't be too optimistic, she would be back. I returned Shedinja shortly after, and I could hear the ball closing in on her Cyndaquil; I never delighted in beating other people, especially if they were good people. Rose was one of those people; she had her own opinions, and they almost matched mine, but to say that the Purge had affected her in a similar way, I just couldn't believe that, but there was still something biting at me, but it was too late by the time I turned around, Rose had already gone back off into the route in the opposite direction.

The rest of the day was fairly smooth, no other interruptions by other people, and all that was left was to make some dinner before it got too dark. I was another day and half out from Hibiscus City, so it wouldn't be long before I was able to sleep in a proper bed, get a bit more lumbar support before I make my way through the forest to the next town over. My plans were all going to take weeks, and it would be close to a few months before I could make it back to my hometown. As I returned to the campsite I had lain out, I saw that there was a fire already burning, a small fire type next to it, and its trainer sitting on a small boulder next to the side of the road.

"Somehow I figured I couldn't get rid of you, Rose," I said, placing my sticks next to the campfire in case we needed more. "So what was it? Got scared of camping out alone? Figured I'd let you come along with me if I just hung out with you more, or something like that?"

"No," Rose answered. "When I went back, those two men appeared again and instantly ran away from me," she said with a light giggle in her voice. "They thought you were with me again. And everyone else was afraid of me, as well. So, in a way, this is all your fault for making me a social outcast from the other trainers."

"I've been a social outcast for five years, it gets easier with practice," I said, hearing her giggle again. I have to say she was a bit more attractive to me when she wasn't mad. "So, you want me to take responsibility for my indirect actions, and let you come along with me as a way of atoning for sins I may have committed?" I asked, Rose shrugging her shoulders. "Another way of saying that is 'blackmail'."

"Well when you say it like it's all negative," she said, chuckling slightly as I did the same.

"I have to ask, though, why did you come back for me?" I asked, Rose slightly confused why I asked. "Not just now, but back there when I was going to battle those two, you came and you stepped into to help me. Why did you do that? I told you we were going to say goodbye that morning, and you still came and helped me."

"When I was younger, my parents always told me that there was a difference between what was right, and what was wrong," she said, sitting back as far as she could against the boulder. "But after the Purge began, I started to think that maybe the line between right and wrong was a little crooked when you really look at it. I started to think that maybe helping another person when they really needed was more of what was the difference between wrong and right. And when I saw that you had left with your Mightyena, I knew you went somewhere without telling us because you didn't want me involved."

"And you figured it was about those two because it's the only thing we share in common?" I asked as she nodded in reply.

"Before, right and wrong seemed like it was so black and white to me, but after I heard about what you had done in your life, I wanted to see if there was more to lines of right and wrong than what I had been told," she said, looking down at her Cyndaquil. "Nobody thinks very highly of me back home because of how much I began to rebel against what my family said, so I really made myself an outcast. I was wondering, then, if I could find another outcast that maybe they would understand me."

"And you thought it was me," I finished for her as she nodded again. "I don't travel with other people; it what I always did back when I trained in Hoenn, but training alone got my starter pokémon, and at least seven others stolen from me. Maybe having someone to have around all the time might not be such a bad idea, after all," I said, stroking Jaeger's head. "While I'm not quite used to the idea, I think that maybe I could travel with someone like you. What do you say, Rose Parrish? Will you be my companion?" I asked, holding out my hand, Rose's eyes brightening up instantly, wrapping her arms around my neck instead. _"I'll take that as a yes."_

* * *

People are alone from birth; they don't know anything of what's going on in their lives, and they knowing no one that's looking down at them. Beginning a journey like the one I did, I was the same; I didn't know anything of what I was doing, but I was so determined to get through it that I didn't think about the consequences. Nothing I did ever made much sense to those around, and no one wanted to be my friend. Now that I'm back in my home region, I didn't think it would be much different; I was scary to a lot of other people, and they didn't want to have anything to do with me, and that was a truth I accepted. But this girl, Rose Parrish, barely a half year into her journey looked at me with the eyes of a friends despite not knowing me, and knew that I could help her just as much as she could help me. Until now, my only friends were the pokémon I trained, but now my world is growing bigger, and now it's time to keep moving, to Hibiscus City, and to see if our lives continue to converge. Until we meet again.

* * *

Characters:

Axel Koehler: Mightyena (Jaeger), Dodrio, Shedinja, other Pokémon TBA. NightFall00

Rose Parrish: Cyndaquil (Mitsuru), other Pokémon TBA. Jordan Cross

* * *

Chapter one complete. Well, there you go, I didn't really like how the battles played out, but I guess that's a bit more realistic in the games than in the anime, so take that as you will. Special shout-out to Jordan Cross, the owner of Rose, thanks for giving me an awesome character to deal with, but I also find it kinda funny that Axel's companion is a girl named Rose; Doctor Who moment; Fantastic! At any rate, so like I said, these are introductory chapters, and I have another to introduce for Axel's little group, before I get into the rival characters, so be on the lookout for that. I'm happy I was able to get this chapter out in this amount of time. I still have one more spot open for grabs in the form of the Electric Elite Four member. Thank you again to all of those who submitted their characters, and be on the lookout for them, or references made in future chapters.

Chapter 2 Preview: Axel has agreed to let Rose to travel with him for the time being until he reaches his own goal, but things get a bit dicey when they deal with a radical feminist group that seems to view their current relationship as nothing short of a crime against nature. Thankfully a new ally steps in to keep both of them safe, but will their efforts make things work? Next time: Chapter 2: Enter Team Amazonia; Cold Justice.


	3. Enter Team Amazonia: Cold Justice

Hey, guys, NightFall here with the next chapter of what I call Cielo Adventures, just to shorten up the name, and I really do want to say that this is definitely one of my better stories, but that mostly has to do with the fact that it follows in the regular style of the pokémon canon; a basic journey. So, from the last chapter, it seems that many of you were pleased, and for a couple of you, a bit more than ecstatic about it. One of you did note the strange choices in Axel's pokémon; a Mightyena, Dodrio, and Shedinja, and I would like to address that. Those pokémon, plus the other three he has on hand are all pokémon I have used in my own Nuzlocke challenge in Emerald; the other six are from my party that I use in competitive battling. So my pokémon will generally range from the Kanto to Sinnoh pokédexes, but something I think you guys could figure out; one of my pokémon lost was my Combusken. There were others, but Combusken was the main reason for this story. Enjoy.

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKÉMON, BECAUSE IF I DID, THEN HOENN WOULD HAVE GOTTEN MORE PUBLICITY.**

* * *

Chapter 2: Enter Team Amazonia; Cold Justice

Opinions are like armpits; everyone has them, and they usually stink. But unlike your underarms, you can't make an opinion smell better with deodorant; instead you have to convince another that your way of thinking is always correct. A lot of people refer to this as brainwashing, forcing one to think a specific way, which normally leads to science fiction situations where aliens try to take over the planet. Well, at least that's how some people think. Really, people become brainwashed by others everyday; anytime that you watch the news, pay attention to how things are portrayed, and you begin to notice patterns. People were designed to recognize patterns in ways that pokémon don't. What may seem random to some, may appear more systematic to others, and therein lies the truth. As patterns emerge in what we see day to day, people become more and more aware of events in their life, and what happens before them, but often too late. Mistakes are made by those who believe in lies, and their own power, instead of the power of others, and end up as the loneliest out of all. Opinions make us think like we do, but our actions determine who we are.

* * *

It'd only been three days since I started my journey in the Cielo region; simply walking through the beaten path; I had no intentions of catching other pokémon, nor did I have any plans to have others come along, but sadly, my plans had gone astray so quickly. Even more unfortunate, it wasn't that I caught a new pokémon; the first day I began travelling through the first marked route in Cielo I ran into a young girl named Rose Parrish; energetic by any means, easily angered, and extremely dull to the ways of the world. After a run-in with two men who were trying to do something with her, that I should probably not discuss, she decided to join me in my journey back to my hometown, at which point we are supposed to go our separate ways. However, I have my suspicions it won't be the last time we walk the same road. This story though, isn't about Rose specifically, but about what we stumbled upon, and how I was taken farther away from my destination, and dragged deeper into the heart of the Cielo Region.

Hibiscus City wasn't much of city when you looked at it; maybe more of a suburban kind of town. The Cielo Region was still relatively young in terms of its development, which meant there was a greater appreciation for nature in this place, and it gave off that sort of soothing feeling. Hibiscus city was the most of an actual city like what the other regions had on the far west part of the country. Rose and I had just entered the city limits, and went through the customs that went along with the current method of travelling; ID checks had become mandatory for anyone travelling with a pokémon, supposedly the best way to find the Purged Trainers.

Entering inside the main city, I felt like I was more in a downtown area of an older city, mostly in the architecture, the strange shape of the decorations, and the overabundance of plant life. For a place that seemed to be a city by all respects, it still had quite a ways to go before it would reach what I had seen in the past. Rose, on the other hand, looked as though she had never seen any of this before; taking in every detail into her mind, her head weaving from left to right at the sight of so many people, by comparison, and the sight of some of the buildings, reaching higher than she probably anticipated. I won't lie; sometimes the first time in a city area makes one question their actual size in the world we make.

Looking through the travel guide I was given at the gate, I began to find every single thing there was to do in Hibiscus City, seeing as Rose wasn't going to let us leave until she had seen all of the important things in this place. Turned out Hibiscus City had only one thing that instantly caught my eye; a pokémon gym. My eyes fixated on that one area of the map, my hands quivering at the silent mention of the building that stood in this town, something, unfortunately, that did not go unnoticed by Rose.

"Hey, Axel, what's wrong?" she asked, walking towards me as she took the guide map from my hands, and began reading through the few pages about the different things in town. "No way, they have a pokémon gym in this city," she said. The excitement in her voice was more than obvious. "We have to go there now!" she said quickly, grabbing me by the wrist, trying to pull me from the spot I was grounded in, Jaeger growling at her to let me go, to which she did.

"I don't go into gyms," I said promptly. "You go if you want. I won't be going anywhere near that place," I said. In my own voice was an obvious quivering, like in my hands.

"What do you mean?" Rose asked, seeing me quickly turn to her with an angered, almost enraged look in my eyes as I cast her hand to the side, Jaeger almost going into a full bark.

"If you want to go then just go, already!" I shouted, Rose taking a step back from me, seeing the obvious anger, and fear in my eyes, slowly taking a few more steps before turning around. Within a minute she was out of sight, but definitely not out of mind; my fear would continue as long as I was travelling throughout this region. Gyms were a part of being a trainer; if you wanted to be serious about being one, everyone knew you'd be challenging them at some point or another, and I was the same way.

* * *

I walked back into the thick of the city; maybe find somewhere quiet to cool off so Rose wouldn't come back so afraid of me. I knew she meant well, but the fact I was afraid to go into another gym would not make any difference to me, and sadly, my own fear would always win in that regard. I don't know when I started to be afraid of what went on in gyms, but I knew it happened after those of us in the Purge were left alone. Thirteen years old, and I was finally allowed to train the way I wanted to, and I was finally strong enough to fight back. There's still a lot I don't remember about what happened in those days, but what I do remember is all too vivid.

All I can remember, though, of that day were sounds; blasts and screaming, obvious pain in the voices, pleas for forgiveness, and just one other thing, a promise being made. It's said that the mind tends to try to forget what we don't wish to remember as a way of protecting us, so as not to introduce a painful time to us again. It helps us from having to be hurt so much, but I always know that never knowing the truth is so much more painful. Even still, idle words are wasted on even the speakers if they don't put it into practice.

I walked in the opposite direction as Rose, hoping there would be some way that I could've been forgiven for my outburst, or the less likely of options, she would apologize to me. Neither of us were necessarily wrong, but we weren't exactly as open minded to each other as we should've been. I rounded the corner of one of the streets, and found the main marketplace of the city; my supplies were beginning to run thin, so I figured no time like the present. I let Jaeger take a spot out of the sunlight near the different market stalls; what can I say, dark types don't like the light. I began going around from place to place, filling my bag with different kinds of food items, and then towards a medicine shop. It wasn't the kind that was in the open, but instead was the kind where you walk inside; probably some kind of mystic waiting to tell me my fortune.

"Welcome to Madame's Herbal Remedies," a woman behind the counter said, frail in her stance, her hands shaking as she walked out from behind. "Also, if you be willing; I will tell you of the fate you will soon meet, my young friend." Sometimes I hate being right, which is sadly, most of the time. "Come and sit, and I shall read the tea leaves."

"I don't do tea," I said, feeling a sharp sting on my head; the old hag just hit me with a walking stick. "Fine," I said, sitting down, not taking my eyes off of her, and taking a single gulp of the tea; tasted like someone mixed it with ocean water. "Go on, surprise me."

"You doubt my powers to foresee the future," she noticed; I wouldn't deny it, I hadn't had much cause to believe in supernatural forces protecting us. "I see…," she started, looking in the cup, the remaining leaves now arranged in an, apparently, specific order. "You be a traveler. A man who walks the road to a destination, but it be so far away that you will have to come across many obstacles to reach this place." Don't like to admit it, but Rose definitely came to mind when she talked about obstacles. "But I see you have been walking for longer than you care to admit. You have walked further than many of this land have, and it has made you strong. But there be more in your life before your future comes to pass."

"Funny, what I see is a bunch of wasted leaves," I said, giving off a smug grin, feeling the same sting on my head from the woman's cane.

"You were torn away from friends in the past," she said; that was when I started to listen, anyone could tell I was a trainer, and that I'd been from other regions, but knowing about my other pokémon. "The imprint on your heart they leave still be there, and will never vanish until you let the reality of your life come forth. Your future be uncertain, but I see even more pain in the same way. You will be taken away from a friend, and you will fight to save that life. You will also meet someone soon unlike anyone you ever meet. They strong like you, but the imprint be weaker, and that person will be stronger."

"I've heard enough, give me the medicines on this list, and I'll get out of you your hair," I said, handing the so-called soothsayer the required items as she looked up at me, a sneer in her eyes as she turned away, shuffling through her shelves to get the necessary ingredients.

"It be said that those who don't accept their destiny be doomed to force it to pass," she said, moving her withered hand to me, looking for the money to pay; I complied, but only for what I wanted, not what was forced on me. "The young Koehler has finally returned to his home," she said as I walked out of the shack she operated in, making me turn around, the folds of the curtains becoming stiff, not allowing me to go back in. How did she know my name?

* * *

My thoughts were still on my last experience with the old fortune teller, walking back up to the spot of shade Jaeger had found, a couple of younger people hanging around him, a little wary of their safety as I sat down. As I began stroking his body, Jaeger instantly began to relax further, the kids around me watching with a definite anticipation, one of them about to come forward, but backed off instantly as Jaeger suddenly brought his head up.

"You are definitely not a good pokémon for kids, you know that?" I asked as I could hear a growl coming from Jaeger; something was around us, and whatever it was, Jaeger had two things in mind: find it, and keep those kids out of here. "Sorry you have to do this," I said as I silently gave the order, and Jaeger began to wildly bark out, making many of the kids jump up out of sheer terror of him.

He always was a good actor, and the bit where he was drooling at the mouth as he turned to some of the kids was just classic beyond belief, sending them all away; it wasn't something I relished in, scaring children, but better they be scared than hurt. Jaeger still kept a very serious expression as he turned to a specific direction; whatever he noticed, it was coming from that side.

The only thing we knew for certain was that it wasn't friendly; most Mightyena have a way of knowing such things, and chances are Jaeger wasn't too far off the mark. So we both waited; I knew it could be anywhere from a few minutes to even an hour before it would actually attack, but as the approach became apparent even to me, I knew we both had to be ready for what was coming at us, but the problem wasn't knowing _that_ it was coming, but rather _what_ coming at us. It wasn't that big, but it was fast, and as it came upon us, nothing was left to guess work.

What was in front of us wasn't just one attacker, and to get a decent idea of the number, we'll just say about fifteen to one odds…as a start. They were random in their species; Nidorina, Smoochum, Snorunt, and some Kirlia, so the pattern of their attack was too random to be a basic wild pokémon attack. Also, this place was a city area; highly unlikely for some of these pokémon to venture that far away from their habitats. But looking around at the different species, some patterns did appear; Nidorina and Smoochum were both pokémon of a similar category, pokémon that were only female in nature, and Snorunt and Kirlia, while not gender exclusive, were stereotypically feminine due to their appearance and evolution requirement.

"What do you think, Jaeger?" I asked, my partner growling at some of the pokémon, the Kirlia and Smoochum being the most anxious. "Not to throw a wrench in your pride, but even you know when you need help with these things," I said, pulling out another pokéball, dropping it from my hand as the explosion of white light revealed another of my team. "Camerupt, let's make short work of this," I said, the bulky pokémon letting out a huge yawn as he looked out.

Without warning, or an obvious order, the first of the pokémon surrounding us attacked, one of the Kirlia, its eyes glowing a light blue indicating a psychic attack; Jaeger jumping in its path as the blast surrounded its body, slowly dissipating with no effect. Camerupt was next, its body beginning to pulsate wildly with a large eruptive sound coming from the two humps on its back as a giant cloud of ash and molten gas covered the small area the pokémon were all in.

"Jaeger, _Tiefschlag_!" I ordered, the dark type rushing inside the Lava Plume attack, rushing past the different psychic type pokémon, attacking them quickly with its paw, barely discernible to the opposing pokémon.

As Jaeger finished the Sucker Punch attack, Camerupt's Lava Plume had finally reached the other pokémon, all the Smoochum and Snorunt falling easily to the fire type attack, especially from a pokémon such as Camerupt. The Nidorina and remaining Kirlia, however, were able to withstand much of it, some of them left with large burn marks. As the Nidorina made an attack on Camerupt, the fire and ground type looked up at them lazily, stomping on the ground once, a short silence following; emphasis on the short. As though there were a delay in his attack, Camerupt forced his hoofed foot deeper into the ground, a giant shock wave within the earth beginning to sound through the scenery.

As the tremor continued, Jaeger instantly jumped into the air, landing safely on one of the lower hanging branches on a nearby tree, the other pokémon, Kirlia and Nidorina alike falling to the ground as my pokémon's Earthquake attack continued. As the last of the Nidorina fell to the ground, unable to stand anymore, Camerupt lifted its massive foot, and the attack ceased, Jaeger jumping down, and the speeding past me and Camerupt, quickly biting down on the last of the Kirlia left standing. With the final pokémon fallen, there were at least ten more that had joined before the end of the battle, leaving my odds at one to twelve and a half; hardly seemed fair, but they asked for it.

With that final strike, I walked out from behind my pokémon, looking down at the different pokémon, seeing that they were indeed trained by people; many of their bodies adorned with scratches and scrapes from training. Jaeger was still on edge, though, growling as he walked out among the other pokémon on the opposite end, Camerupt simply folding its legs underneath itself before falling asleep. Why did my strongest pokémon have to be laziest, as well?

"Well?" I asked outward; it was obvious whoever they were, they were still around. "How did I do? This was obviously a test run seeing as you were using such weak pokémon against me. Or did you really underestimate my power from that far off place? Rule number one of pokémon battles; never show yourself to be arrogant, because arrogance is where defeat lies." Great, now I sound like that old gypsy with the fortune cookie sayings, but I obviously worked, seeing as another twenty pokéballs were thrown out into the air, releasing a more formidable opponent for me to battle; all of them Nidoqueen. "I've really got to stop getting so smart."

As before, without warning, the first of the Nidoqueen threw its large fist at me, barely missing, but with twenty identical pokémon surrounding the area, there were only a few ways to get out of this, and I liked the thirty sixth option I came up with…run. Making a quick duck under another of the Nidoqueen's attack, this time with its tail, I was able to get out from inside the giant circle, returning Camerupt to his pokéball, and whistling for Jaeger. As we made a mad dash for a more populated area of the city, we could see the Nidoqueen behind us, none of them making any kind of sudden movements, but just staring. When I was far enough away, I could recognize the sounds and lights associated with the returning mechanism of a pokéball, meaning that that danger was gone, but the fact still remained that someone was after me, question was who.

* * *

Walking through the main part of the city, finding it to be more modernized than the park and marketplace I was just in, I looked around for a Pokémon Center; being lazy didn't mean that Camerupt wouldn't need a checkup every now and then, and the fact that it'd been a good three or four days since I was in one helped with the need for that, as well. After giving the nurse across the counter the pokéballs containing Camerupt, Dodrio, and Shedinja, I reserved a room for both myself and Rose, figuring we'd spend a few more days in this city before heading out. As I walked out of the building, Jaeger following just after, I looked off to the side, seeing Rose sitting outside a building, looking a bit dissatisfied at something, her Cyndaquil, Mitsuru, sitting on her lap as she sulked.

"So, how'd it go at the gym?" I asked, walking towards her as she looked at me with a slightly angry look in her eye, but it wasn't so much from a loss as it was form disappointment. "I'm gonna take a wild guess and say the leader wasn't there."

"Got that right," Rose said, folding her arms over her chest as she puffed out her cheeks a little bit to keep her anger inside of her; something she had not shown me to capable of doing if the last experience was any indication. "I mean what kind of gym leader doesn't even stay in their own gym for challengers to come and get a badge from them."

"Newsflash, Rose, gym leaders are still people," I said, sitting down on the same bench next to her. "Really, the position that they're in is like a job for them; they have regular business hours just like a specialty store does. The old lady I got my palm read from only offered that from nine to five; we should've gotten here earlier. They usually leave some kind of a notice, so what'd it say?" I asked, Rose handing me a piece of paper from the pocket in her jacket. Great, she's stealing things already; this is going to be a long few months.

"Some garbage about having to go somewhere today, and that he'd be back tomorrow for regular challenges," she said, having already memorized the basic idea of the notice. "Guess we're gonna be stuck here until I can challenge the gym." Yep, kinda figured that already.

"Well, I think it does tell you where this guy is gonna be for today," I said, looking down at the bottom of the notice. "It says that some kind of political movement is going to be making some kind of presentation today, and he's there as crowd control. It gives a time and place. I'll say this, the dude's thorough about the information he gives you people."

"We're going," Rose said confidently. Of course we are; why wouldn't we? "If we can find this kid, then we can convince him to open the gym early so I can get my badge, and we can move straight to the next gym," she said as I looked at her confused by her classification of her calling the gym leader a kid. "I saw a picture of the gym leader in the gym window, and he didn't look like he was very old; kinda like a grade schooler."

Why can't things make sense anymore? At any rate, we both followed the streets signs leading to the place where the notice on the gym pointed out; anything to keep Rose off of my back, and maybe give this kid a bit of my wrath for forcing me into this. Still, even if he's a gym leader, political matters are better suited for the mayor, or maybe even a governor, not a pokémon battler, and a young one at that, as Rose pointed out. So why was this guy being forced to participate, even as crowd control, is there the possibility that this could get dangerous? Even if there was, Jaeger wasn't the kind to let anything happen to either of us; the big old softy had already warmed up to Rose, something I wasn't too happy about, mind you.

* * *

When we reached the address of this presentation, my mind was still stuck on the idea of a gym leader being used for this kind of thing. It was an outdoor thing, obviously, based on the large crowd gathered in the single spot, if there was never any other indication as to where this shindig was going down. As we approached the group, I instantly recoiled back, able to see the stage already, seeing the head of a Nidoqueen standing among at least three women, and that's when I noticed it. The entire audience was women, minus me, and if the gym leader really was here, him as well. Able to see over the stage, all three of the women up there were dressed similarly; their dress consisting of a pair of knee high black boots, a dark brown skirt ending about where the shoes ended, and some kind of cardigan that reminded you of army officers, shoulder pads and everything, in a crimson color with gold accents, and a black colored capital A on the left side chest. They were part of a group, alright, but I don't if politics was all they had in mind.

They were all strong, much like Rose, but even more so; fully capable of beating up on a male of my build, and that's what scared me. They could beat me with their own strength, but instead they choose to use pokémon against me; they put themselves on some kind of pedestal. Rose had already disappeared into the group as the girl in the center approached the microphone, I stayed in the back, trying to hear, but keep myself out of sight.

"If you are here today, then it means you are ready to join the cause for righteousness," she said; her voice was, I'll be the first to admit, powerful, and yet slightly amorous. "Men have destroyed this world for women everywhere. Even in the days of Team Rocket, Teams Magma and Aqua, Team Galactic, and Team Plasma, the men they employed as their warriors, administrators, and high rulers were weak fools to believe they could actually accomplish anything. These so-called changers of the world were led by foolish men who thought themselves above even the gods that govern this world, and this is where the woman stands firm even today," she said, the two women to her sides giving a loud shout of agreement. "As women of the group Amazonia, we ask that you take the first step in making this world more suitable for our survival in this land governed by men; who's with me?" she asked loudly, some of the girls in the audience shouting in the same way the other two had.

Radical feminism was what they were promoting; the fundamental idea that women are the true superior sex, and that all men are inferior to them in every aspect. It does have its truths in some cases; sometimes women will get passed over for men in workplaces, promotions, and in rare occasions as the strongest pokémon trainer. But there are inconsistencies in how the movement idealized their stance, but I had a feeling they weren't willing to listen. I could tell Rose wasn't even paying them any attention, which made me feel a bit safer, but not by much; she was still looking for the gym leader. And that's what I noticed; the gym leader's notice said he was coming for crowd control, but I didn't see any indication of a crowd needing to be controlled.

"Do you really expect people to just abandon their partners in search of some higher calling of your feminist trash?" a sudden voice from within the crowd said; it wasn't male, so it wasn't the gym leader. "Do you really think that conquering the world, and putting all men beneath you is really the way to go?" they asked again; the voice had fully matured, so whoever she was, she was probably a decent enough trainer to fight for herself.

"So, you have come to fight us again, Diana Rosson," the girl up top said, motioning to her Nidoqueen, the poison and ground type making a step forward towards the group, but suddenly stopping as it noticed something else within the group. "What's wrong?" the girl asked, seeing Nidoqueen turning to me directly, the three women all seeing my face. "So he has returned to accept his fate."

"No, he has not," I said, some of the girls clearing a path from in front of me, Rose still crouching down within the group, being revealed as the pathway was made. "Rose, there's a fine line between being proactive, and just plain idiotic. You have now crossed that line," I said, Rose looking up, and seeing Nidoqueen taking a hard step down to the pavement, the three girls chuckling as I reached down for Camerupt's pokéball. Man, I'm stupid, and those three knew it.

"Hey!" the voice said again from within the crowd. "You quarrel is with me, so you will leave that boy alone!" Excuse me, but I'm five years off from being called "boy," not that I don't appreciate the heat being taken off of me. "You will fight me, instead," she said, coming out into view as Nidoqueen stepped in front of her, and as I recall, she was named Diana. Diana Rosson.

* * *

Well, from the tone of her skin, and condition her body was in, she had been training for at least a year and a half, if not more, but she was significantly shorter than I had envisioned. She stood at five foot three at the highest, her body boasting more compact muscles, giving her a leaner sort of look, and a lightly tanned complexion. Her hair was a jet black color, reaching down to the very base of her neck in a sort of wild cut style, tipped at the bottom with blood red highlights. Her eyes, though, they were steel grey, but even more than that, they were like steel itself; unmovable, passionate, and unwavering. Her wardrobe was much like mine, more for functionality; consisting of a light blue t-shirt, a pokéball design directly on the center underneath a light gray hooded jacket, a pair of sandy brown cargo pants, and a pair of green running shoes, the pink accents on them a bit too noticeable for my taste, but I was gonna chalk it up to it being a "girl thing."

* * *

"He's done nothing to anger you, and I was the one to speak up first, you will fight me, Team Amazonia!" Diana said, her voice was just as powerful as the women on the stage, Nidoqueen looking back and forth from me, Rose, and Diana.

"True that we have our own issues with you, Rosson, but there is still hope for your conversion to the truth of the world, and we keep that invitation extended at all times," the girl said, turning back to me. "But this man brutally defeated many of our newest members' pokémon using power far beyond their level." Yeah, like I had much of a choice. "And even if you disagree with the methods of Team Amazonia, even you must agree that acts of violence are not to be welcomed on those who are unprovoked."

"I don't supposed you'd be willing to listen to my side, would you?" I asked, Nidoqueen making a wide swing from its fist, striking the ground with a purple afterglow; it was using a very powerful poison attack. "Let's try this, Swalot!" I shouted, tossing another of my pokémon into the air, the giant amorphous mass landing in front of Nidoqueen as it jabbed again at me.

With Swalot's body completely absorbing the blow, Nidoqueen recoiled back, growling at me as it looked to its trainers, the girl in the center nodding her head as the poison and ground type raised its fist above its head.

"Swalot, Encore!" I shouted quickly, Swalot's small hand glowing in a harsh white light, tossing it to Nidoqueen, just before it could force its fist to the ground to use an Earthquake, instinctively jabbing again at Swalot with an ineffective Poison Jab attack. "One of those attack you never think to use, huh?" I questioned, none of the girl on the stage looking too happy as they watched their Nidoqueen pointlessly stabbing at Swalot; prompting the other two to throw their own pokéballs, releasing another two Nidoqueen, making groan out of complete frustration.

"Tundra, Ice Shard!" I heard Diana say quickly with two individual shots of ice being shot out with incredible speed, knocking both of the other Nidoqueen off balance momentarily. "I won't let you attack another person for simply being male. I'm aware of how you operate; attacking from the shadows to catch male trainers off guard with hoards of pokémon. The only reason you use the violence defense is because he was able to beat you." I won't lie, that did something for me. "And now, I'll fight with this boy to make sure you don't have your way. Tundra, Icy Wind!" she shouted, the small pokémon, a Glaceon, at her feet releasing a steady attack of ice filled gusts, both of the Nidoqueen beginning to move much more sluggishly.

"Well, at least I have someone on my side of this," I said, looking back over at Swalot. "Get ready," I said, Swalot nodding as it began to take in large breaths in between the first Nidoqueen's attempts to attack it with the pointless Poison Jabs, no pun intended. "Rose, think you can run interference for a bit?" I asked, my travelling partner looking at me with a smile as she unclipped another of her pokéballs, throwing it into the air, the white light revealing a pokémon still suspended in the air even after it was receded, a Rufflet flapping in the air.

With a quick dive downward, Rose's Rufflet began flying directly around Nidoqueen's face, making quick circles around the large pokémon, its bulky body making it too slow to catch it within the close quarters of its body. Even able to get a few strikes of a Wing Attack in the constant torment of its opponent, Rufflet continued in this way as Swalot continued to make large, labored breaths, small particles entering its large mouth over time. Noticing this, the three girls on the stage called out to the other Nidoqueen, Diana's Glaceon beginning to waver in its Icy Wind attack, jumping back quickly seeing the two pokémon beginning to take heavy, slow steps towards Swalot.

"We may have a bit of trouble, brewing, here," Diana said, Glaceon continuing to blast at the two Nidoqueen with Ice Shard attacks, the two pokémon able to dodge them after so many strikes. "You're obviously using Stockpile for something, but once the effect of that Encore wears off, you'll have to do something fast."

"Simple bait and switch," I said, Diana looking at me impressed. "The set time it takes for the Encore to cease in its effect is all the time I need to make this all work. Besides, using Stockpile raises my defensive stats, so I wasn't in any immediate danger. I simply needed Rose to distract to keep those three off my trail, but I guess not everything works out like it should. So when I give the word, get Glaceon and Rufflet out of the way, because it's not gonna be as safe as you'd think," I said warningly, and despite their best efforts, Rufflet and Glaceon weren't as effective as they were earlier. These trainers were learning, and they were learning fast. "Now!"

Without another word, Rufflet was returned to Rose's pokéball, and Glaceon ducked underneath behind Diana, Swalot's eyes burning a ghostly white color as it opened its wide mouth, almost reaching the same height as it, five foot seven, a similar colored blast beginning to form within its mouth, all three of the girls giving a frantic order for the Nidoqueen to attack.

"Spit Up!" I shouted as the attack became large enough to expand the size of Swalot's mouth, blasting back the first Nidoqueen, staying on it for a few seconds before turning to the sides, attacking the other two, forcing them back. Releasing the rest of the attack towards the sky, Swalot slowly closed its giant mouth as the last of the attack dissipated back into raw energy, waiting to be used again should it ever need be. "And that is what we call indigestion to the extreme, folks," I said with a slight chuckle as I returned Swalot. "Good job, bud."

"Boy, you're just full of surprises, Axel," Rose noticed, Mitsuru agreeing as it hopped back onto its trainer's shoulder. "So what should we do with them?"

"There's really no safe way to deal with them given their views of men," I answered. "If I walk away, I'm a coward, but at the same time, if I berate them, they'll attack my character. So I'll wait for them to make the first move. How about it? You done here?" I asked, all three girls looking at me with a dark grimace on each of their faces.

"I won't let them escape," Diana said, her Glaceon stepping back out in front of her. "Tundra, we're taking them in. We won't let any other girls fall victim to their lies anymore," she said, about to give the order for attack, but for some reason, the others didn't have fear in their eyes, but confidence, and sadly, we would soon find out why.

"You may fight us," the girl in the center said. "But even grunts of our organization have power over others," she said, a large majority of the girl present for their speech staring at us, standing in front of them, specifically focused on Diana. "Even if you can defeat us, can you defeat the girls you so wish to dearly save, Rosson?" she asked mockingly, Diana looking at the girls all holding up a pokéball, looking as though they were ready to battle. "Even if they don't seem it on the outside, all women secretly wish for power against a man's oppression. Soon, you and that young girl will know the truth, and will be begging for us to let you in our group," she said, motioning at Rose, and then staring directly into my eyes. "Your days are numbered."

"I know," I replied. "Just not by you," and with that, I was ready to leave, but even then, some of the other girls looked like they wanted to keep us here, Jaeger growling at all of them, even letting out a few barks to ward them off; unsuccessfully, might I add. "Looks like we got a bit of trouble, again," I said, Mitsuru's back already burning with its fiery quills, and the Glaceon Diana had named Tundra was growling in a much lighter tone.

"I don't want to fight any of you, girls," Diana said, almost as though she were pleading them to back away. "Don't you see; these women are merely trying to use you to make their point. They mean nothing to you. Will leaving men forever really make this world a better place?" she asked, her words meaningless to the others; they were already convinced of Team Amazonia's cause. "Please don't make me do this," she said, Tundra's mouth already beginning to gather ice and snow within its jaw.

"It would appear another escapade of yours has failed, Rosson," the girl on the stage said. "New recruits, show your true power for the good of all womankind. Defeat them, and take the man as a prisoner!" she said, pointing at me.

"Why do I hate being me, right now?" I asked, feeling a quick tap on my shoulder with a small figure pulling Rose and I aside, running up to Diana with us in tow before throwing a pokéball to the ground; the rebound off the pavement easily heard with a thick cloud of something covering us, allowing us to escape easily, the cloaked figure leading us, holding onto Rose's hand, with the rest of in a sort of chain, the gas clearing quickly enough for the members of Team Amazonia and their new recruits to find all four of us out of sight.

* * *

As far as I knew, we ended in some kind of an alleyway; the figure in their white cloak, standing up, and returning his pokémon, still covered in the gas before we could get a decent look on it. Already beginning to walk away, the figure barely batted an eye before Rose grasped their hand, making the person look back, their eyes covered by the shadow casted by the coat their wore.

"Who are you?" Rose asked as Diana stood up, standing a bit taller than this person, already gaining my suspicions. "You're not bad with a pokémon, so that tells me something about you, but I want to hear from your lips, specifically," she said, reaching down for his hood.

"He's the gym leader of Hibiscus City," Diana said, Rose looking at him in pure shock, still unable to discern any other features aside from his small stature. "Your name is Nalin, isn't it?" she asked as the figure nodded. "I assume there's something you want to say to her?" she asked, the boy she called Nalin, hidden under his coat, nodding in response.

"I know why you came today," he said, motioning and Rose, his voice definitely sounding as young as Rose described him. "And I am sorry, but I cannot accept any battles today. I merely stepped away from the gym to attend the meeting for this Team Amazonia."

"You were worried that they might pose a threat to the town, if they proved as violent as other groups with the same MO," I said. "It's why you said you were going down there for crowd control; you were keeping the crowd safe from them, not the other way around." Nalin denied nothing, but still refused to take off his hood. "Still, if you were in the group already, why didn't you speak up when things got dangerous with those Nidoqueen. Even if you do use grass types, don't you think you could've done something to help us out of there."

"Being a gym leader isn't always about being a strong battler, you know," Nalin said, turning back around. "It's about making the wise, long term decisions in situations like this, and getting information the only way that keeps everyone safe. I was only going to help if things got too far out of hand, and sadly, I wasn't able to help you until the very end. I'm sorry for those girls that were corrupted by those women. I only pray that they would be delivered from their hands, and into more caring arms."

"You know more about them, don't you?" I asked, Diana instantly looking over at Nalin; the gym leader not honoring my question with a response. "Forget them being nuts, you knew about them beforehand, and if you know something else about them, then it might be better if you start talking now," I said, Jaeger giving him a threatening growl.

"Any information you want to gain has to be in a secure location," Nalin said quickly; despite his young age, he was more than qualified for this job. "The gym will reopen tomorrow, and I'll tell you what you want to know then. But you'll have to forgive me for wanting to do my own sort of test on you three. I'll have to require that you all battle me for the information you want." After he said this, I froze; battling in a gym was still out of the question for me, and I wasn't sure if I could justify the means to even and end this important.

* * *

After he spoke those last words, Nalin walked out of the alleyway, his hood still up from his long white coat, trailing down to his ankles, leaving Rose, Diana, and myself alone in the narrow space, more than a thousand questions in our minds, and a kid no higher than five feet with the answers. I was the first to head out past this, walking towards the Pokémon Center to unwind for the rest of the day, Rose following me soon after, Diana staying behind, heaving out a large sigh as she leaned herself against the wall of the building next to her. She was disappointed in something; she had her own vendetta against this group, and Nalin was bringing her closer.

"So what are you gonna do now?" I asked from the roadway, Diana looking over at both Rose and myself. "Fighting off an entire organized crime syndicate by yourself isn't exactly a very efficient way of doing things. Maybe you should think about other ways of tackling this." Obviously I knew where this was going to lead, and I knew how Rose was going to react when she figured it out, but part of told me this was more than necessary.

"I've been fighting them by myself for the last few months, trying to keep girls like that from joining their organization," Diana explained. "And when they're not trying to recruit, they're trying to hurt all kinds of guys just to prove their point that they are the superior sex. I've spent the greater part of my training career trying to help people who needed it, and when I saw them, it was like they were trying to deliberately go against me." She was frustrated at them, but the question was how much she wanted the help. "All I want is for them to leave people alone, leave pokémon out of what they're doing, and now I find out I can finally get some information. What you're asking me to do is something I don't know if I can do. Joining with you two would be like putting in a time bomb and just waiting for it to explode, killing us all." Cheery thought.

"Look at it this way," I said, Diana looking up. "You're worried about hurting people who can obviously take care of themselves. Trust me, I learned a long time ago that not accepting help is what makes you weak. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if I'd travelled earlier in my life," I explained; my analogies to myself obviously wasted on Diana, who knew nothing of who I was. "Just believe me that you can't do this by yourself. Everyone needs help sometimes."

"Besides, it'd be more fun if we had another girl in our little group," Rose said enthusiastically, as she always did, and while I didn't agree with her on the "more fun" part, it would be nice to have someone that could almost battle on par with me. "And if we ever see those idiots from Team Amazonia, we can help you defeat them just like we did today. Don't you think it'd be easier if you had someone helping you along the way."

Diana wasn't exactly too talkative after that; she said nothing past what Rose said, and part of me wondered if our words had been able to reach her. She just stayed in the narrow space, leaning against the wall, not moving, her steel grey eyes staring directly downward, without intention of moving, and somehow I knew that would be the case. And yet, I didn't want to admit the idea that she really thought she was better off on her own, but it was her mind, and not mine. I heaved out a large sigh, and turned away from the alleyway, taking a few steps, quickly feeling a tug against the back of my jacket, making me freeze in position, turning to look behind me.

"Sometimes I get scared of those people," Diana said, already directly behind me. "They hurt people because they think differently, and sometimes I wonder what if my pokémon won't be able to beat them. What will they do to them, and then to me? But when I want to ask for help, people are just as scared as me of them. Meeting you two was like a dream I'd woken up from too many times to count; I finally have friends that are willing to fight with me against Team Amazonia, but then they are defeated, hurt, and I lose them all so quickly, it was like they were never there in the first place. Look me in the eye, and tell me that won't happen to you two."

"Diana," I started, having her let go of my jacket. "When I saw your Glaceon battling today, it wasn't forcing itself to use those attacks. It was confident in itself, and its trainer. Nothing that they could've done would change the fact that it is the bravest pokémon I've ever seen. You say you're scared of them, and that's good. People always say that you shouldn't be afraid of something, but if somebody wasn't scared of that violent aura those women showed off, I'd call them an idiot. Fear keeps you fast, makes you cautious, and it makes you smart. I can't promise you that we'll always be safe, but I can promise you that you won't have to feel responsible."

* * *

I guess that was enough to convince her, and if the smile on her face was any indication, I'd say she was coming with us. Heck, I'd already let one stray come with me, what's one more? All three of us walked back to the Pokémon Center, and from what I saw of Diana, her face was more at ease. Those three Amazonia grunts, and their new recruits were either still in the city, or on their way, but Diana didn't seem as hurt as much as she was previously. There was still the imprint of what happened on her mind, but maybe she was able to see past that a bit.

"By the way, Axel, how did you know Nalin was a grass trainer?" Rose asked; well I guess that was a bit of stretch for me. "We never got to see his pokémon, so how did you know?"

"The scent of the pokémon," I said, Diana nodding in agreement. "Something you get used to while you train against a bunch of other pokémon. I don't use grass type pokémon at all, so part of it may have been a smell I wasn't used to, but it's more to do with the specific smell of the pokémon. I'm allergic to most perfumes, so there are only a few fragrances I can tolerate, and the stench that comes from a Gloom is one of them. When you have an allergy as potent as mine, you have to be careful of what you can and can't smell, so I memorized everything I could from training in Hoenn," I said, Diana instantly freezing in position at the sound of my training region.

"What do you mean by that?" Diana asked, looking at both of us. "You can't be more than seventeen, so how could you have trained in Hoenn, and then suddenly be in the Cielo Region?" she asked; obviously the truth of my past was going to have to be revealed to everyone we meet.

"Seven years ago, I started training in the Hoenn Region," I answered, Diana looking shocked. "My pokémon aren't strong because I'm a good trainer; they're strong because I've been with them longer than most people have at my age. The Purge taught me that people who use pokémon that don't become strong are the first to go, so my strength was a need."

"You were in the Purge?" Diana asked; obviously this was going to be a recurring theme with these people. "How can you have survived from that kind of experience? How can you keep training your pokémon after what you've seen, and how some pokémon can be used by the government?" she asked. She was probably affected by the Purge, too, at least in some way, unable to get a license because she was below the international requirement.

"I'm not training my pokémon, anymore," I said, both Diana and Rose looking at me surprised. "I battle out of necessity now. I guess you could say I'm still mourning over what happened to me, and the rest of the kids. As of now, my only journey is to go back to my home; I'm merely travelling with Rose right now until I get there. So I'm sorry if your expectations of me being the Purge have been broken." She wasn't upset, but rather still curious.

"Why?" she asked. "Why did you trainers do all those things, and fight off those people? You knew you could've been hurt, and yet you kept trying to fight them off. So why?"

"Same reason you fight Team Amazonia," I said. "Because it's what we know to be right."

* * *

I don't know if my answer was good enough, but after that Diana was quiet again, and it remained that way until we reached the Center again. I received the rest of my pokéballs from the nurse behind the counter, Rose and Diana dropping off their pokéballs for basic treatment, and followed me up the stairs to the room I had reserved. Upon walking inside, I looked at the hat rack off to the side, and reached for my fedora, freezing when I couldn't find it on my head. With the silhouette blinking on and off again, I clenched my fist knowing when it would've been taken off. My mind began running through my first experience with the Amazonia grunts, back when I had come from the marketplace, instantly remembering when I ducked underneath one of the Nidoqueen's punches, my hat obviously coming off at that point.

"Those chicks are dead," I said vengefully.

"What's the big deal?" Rose asked. "That hat wasn't too expensive, was it?"

"Price has nothing to do with it," I said, pacing back and forth from the room to the hallway. "Those girls are hell-bent on conquering this country from men, and they know I was wearing it when I was attacked earlier. Connect the dots a little, and you'll see what I'm getting at. They don't like me, they have something that was on my head, has my scent, they probably have pokémon like Jaeger," I said, Rose mapping out each of the points with her finger.

"They can use pokémon like Mightyena, Growlithe, any Eevee evolution, or canine pokémon to track down the scent, and find him within hours, at which point they'll place this entire building under siege," Diana explained quickly, Rose quickly realizing, and then _really_ realizing how bad the situation was. It'll take them some time before they can get to their commanding officer in this part of the region, so we should have until tomorrow before they come, but if my suspicions are right, I know who they're taking orders from."

"And that would be? He asked, knowing he would soon regret it," I said.

"One of the administrators, known only by a codename," Diana began. "The Flaming Rose; their largest advocate for using force to prove their point." Oh, this just keeps getting better, now don't it. I was sure, though, that this wasn't going to be rectifying itself any time soon, but Diana and Rose weren't about to let me do anything so incredibly stupid as to just hand myself to them on a silver platter, so it was all a matter of waiting.

* * *

Night came, and to Rose and Diana, I was the first one asleep, already covered by the blankets on the bottom of the first bunk, both of the girls climbing into the adjacent set. I knew Rose would be a pretty hard sleeper, the only question was what Diana was going to do for her sleeping habits. She had been pretty active, and she spent most of the rest of today walking back and forth, almost like she had a problem sitting still. The overexertion of energy for her would be well enough to sack her out easily, and thankfully, science and anatomy were on my side. Diana climbed up to the top bunk, and fell dead asleep as soon as she hit the pillow. Their easy breathing was all the information I needed, and that's when I made my move.

I silently climbed out of bed, barely making a sound against the carpet floors in the Pokémon Center, opening the door with Jaeger pretending to sleep on the outside. I had all six of my pokémon with me, and I had been able to get out of the vicinity of both of my travelling companions, so things were easily going my way. I made it to the lobby area of the center, looking out at the locked glass doors; knowing they weren't going to open for just anybody.

So I waited. Diana had been tracking, and battling these people for the latter part of a two year training journey, so I could believe what she was saying, but something about how she estimated the time frame in which it would take, something was off. Even if it would take until nightfall for them to reach their home base, if they were serious enough, they could've been here within a few hours of picking up on my scent. Either there were things Diana still had yet to learn about them, or the even more disturbing possibility, she knew everything. Sometimes things work out a bit too good for them to be true, and the chances of our meeting a person completely against them, and brave enough to fight, while possible, were remote at best.

My mind continued to wander, Jaeger crossing his forelegs, and resting his against them, trying to get some sleep, but as though it were planned, scripted, or even magic, it began. It was fast, but it was obvious; a large smash being heard from the outside of the Pokémon Center, the giant fists of Nidoqueen breaking through the windows. If I was the only one awake before that, I certainly wasn't now, a figure standing outside the doorway with a much more elegant pokémon standing at her side with a striking pose.

"Let's begin," she said.

* * *

Characters:

Axel Koehler: Mightyena (Jaeger), Dodrio, Shedinja, Camerupt, Swalot, other Pokémon TBA. NightFall00

Rose Parrish: Cyndaquil (Mitsuru), Rufflet, other Pokémon TBA. Jordan Cross.

Diana Rosson: Glaceon (Tundra), other Pokémon TBA. Cyanide the Sneasel

* * *

Chapter two complete. I am so sorry this took a while for me to update, but as you can see, here it is. I do apologize for the awkwardness of last chapter, but what I like to do with some of my stories is see how much I can get away with. Obviously some people weren't thrilled with the way I handled my first chapter in some aspects, but hopefully this one makes up for it. So, to recap, we've got Axel and Rose coming into Hibiscus, meeting Team Amazonia, their new travelling partner Diana (courtesy of my good friend Cyanide), and a little into the first gym leader named Nalin, a grass gym leader, so we'll see how that goes. There is also a message for those of you who have yet to send in your completed OC form, and that is if you don't send it in within the next couple of days, I will pass it off to anyone who is willing (this is for the gym leader position of Viene Town, and the Psychic elite four member).

Chapter three preview: Axel, Rose, and their new friend Diana are trapped in a Pokémon Center with one of the administrators of Team Amazonia hot on their tails, a little too literally in some cases. But what is the real goal in attacking an entire building if their true target is Axel? Could there be something more in store for these three as their fight against Team Amazonia continues. Next time: Pokémon Center: Under Siege.


	4. Pokemon Center: Under Seige

Hey, readers, NightFall back with the third chapter of Cielo Adventures, and so far, it looks like you all found the last chapter well worth the wait, and that's really what I try to go for. Call me superficial, petty, and maybe a little insecure, if you will, but my writing is all about the reader; if they're not happy with the chapter, how can I be? Obviously, there are gonna be things you have to wonder why I wrote it, what I was thinking, or if I'm intending to write something, but it's just a bit indirectly, but if you're happy with the overall chapter, I shouldn't complain so much. So to recap: we've got Axel and Rose making it into Hibiscus City, the site of the first pokémon gym, going from the starting town, and meeting up with a group of radical feminists named Team Amazonia. After being attacked by them, Axel and Rose get the help from another girl named Diana Rosson, who seems to have her own personal vendetta against them. Now, Amazonia has broken into the Center where Axel is staying, but is he their only target?

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKÉMON, BECAUSE IF I DID, HOENN WOULD'VE GOTTEN MORE PUBLICITY.**

* * *

Chapter 3: Pokémon Center: Under Siege

It's a basic law of nature that if something _can_ go wrong, nine times out of ten, it _will_. A lot of people chalk it all up to pessimistic attitudes being a bringer of bad luck, and that by thinking it will go wrong, it's usually going to. People like this are the kinds that others usually like to stick around, somebody who can keep their spirits lifted, even when things get tough, but it's in those exact times that maybe not everyone is how they usually act around you. It's said that your true character is the kind of person you are in times of trial, not comfort, and so many times people show themselves to be ugly in their personality. Nobody ever said that life was a set thing, and people change every day, just by waking up at dawn's first light, they begin the first day of their rest of their lives. Cliché while it may be, it's truth that nobody knows when things end until they do, but if we spend our lives afraid of everything that could happen, he never know the true joy in a life where life was lived, maybe not according to plan, but was nothing short of a blast.

* * *

All I could see were silhouettes, but I could tell they were all female; body shape tends to tell these kinds of things out. Along with the Nidoqueen that had broken the windows of the Center, I could see only vague shadows of other pokémon, most of them like the ones I had seen before, mostly pokémon that were stereotypically female. By comparison they were much easier to discern than the people; they all looked similar, like most grunts of one of these organizations, but each one was specific in some way; differences in hair color, height, body frame and shape, but the differences were so minute, they were the kind that you had to look for. None of them walked forward, they simply stood around the perimeter, waiting for something. As for what, I had no idea, but they obviously needed it in order to proceed. In the same way, I stayed still.

Minutes passed by on the clock above the door in front of me, and nobody any sudden moves, the smoke, and dust kicked up from the attack having already disappeared, and all of the grunts stared in the window at me, but the one in the doorway was the one to catch my eye. She was different from the rest, and it wasn't just because she was much more confident and cocky than the others, it was because she seemed to have her own uniform aside from the grunts. She was higher up on this team's ladder, and she wasn't afraid to boast that fact. The others didn't seem to mind her overwhelming presence, but why weren't they coming in? They used my hat to find me, so why not just come in and take me out. But that also brought in to question why they made this big show, and brought a myriad of grunts. This woman, though, standing among them had all the answers, and she was going to give them.

"I presume you would be the infamous Flaming Rose?" I asked, the woman chuckling slightly as she stepped into the Center, all of the grunts becoming a bit more anxious.

* * *

This Flaming Rose, or whatever her real name was, was definitely deserving of her title, the way she towered over many of the grunts at a statuesque height of five foot ten, her build slim, but even then, I knew she possessed some strength. Her hair was a blazing red, falling straight down her back, and around her face, her green colored eyes making something painfully obvious to me. Her skin, while pale and fair, was covered in scratches; barely noticeable unless you looked hard enough, marks of different battles no doubt, and she was proud of every one of them. She didn't wear the same uniform as her subordinates, her own dress consisting of a red tank top covered by a black leather jacket, the same capital letter A on the left side chest in green, a pair of black shorts, ripped along the ends with a green lining, and a pair of boots similar to the ones the grunts wore coupled with her black fingerless gloves.

* * *

"Just like a man," she said, walking around me, a Houndoom walking in behind her, holding a gray fedora in its jaws; _my_ fedora. "Always making assumptions, and making sure we all accept is as the right answer. Well, it looks like you were right this time; I am the Flaming Rose, and thanks to that little friend of yours," she said, pointing down at the hat from behind me. "You brought us here to make sure you don't bother us again."

"Why would you be worried about me?" I asked, not bothering to look behind me at where she was. "I'm just one person, a man, no less, so shouldn't I be inferior to you?"

"Sound logic, but there are flaws," she said, coming back around, her gloved hands gliding across my shoulder as she did. "While none of us like to admit it, there's no denying you did defeat some of us. The three that gave me this hat of yours spoke of your abilities, and said that maybe it'd be better if you weren't going to be an issue for us, anymore," she said, taking the hat from her Houndoom, and placing it atop her own head.

"Why not go after Diana?" I asked; not necessarily trying to save my own skin, but at least stall until I could come up with something. "She's the one taking an active interest in whatever it is you do. And she's of the superior sex; doesn't that make her a more viable threat?" I asked, the grunts around me, looking even more anxious, looking away from me, and towards the back of the Center. "Why did you come here tonight?" I asked, this Flaming Rose, looking back at me as she removed the hat from her head, and placed it directly in front of her Houndoom.

"Ask yourself, in an organization that values the presence of women, but not men, what you suggest would be the best course of action against them," she said, flipping the brim of the fedora in between her fingers, the dark and fire type watching it so intently, I had to consider her question. "Because if you were me, you'd want to make sure every last man on this planet suffered for every time they looked down on a woman because of their gender. And if our dear friend Diana has already told you, you'd know I like to play rough with boys."

At that my eyes snapped open; and looked towards the back hallway, a series of footsteps coming from the back of the room, the grunts all cracking their knuckles with their Nidoqueen and Kirlia already prepared. I looked back at their Admin, Flaming Rose, and glared at her; she knew that I knew what they were planning to do, and she loved every second of it.

"You're going to use the break-in as an excuse to attack the male trainers in this Center, aren't you?" I asked, Jaeger growling at the Houndoom as it did the same. "Well, if that's all you want to do, you'll have to think again, because as long as I draw breath, I can't let you have your way with anyone," I said, the Admin laughing as she spun my hat on her finger, not noticing me reach for one of my pokéballs, just waiting for the right moment.

"That sounds like an open invitation," she said, letting my hat down from her finger, cracking her knuckles in the same instant that her Houndoom let out a small burst of fire, burning the fabric of my fedora from seam to seam. "Because I can't wait to show you and those boys some real moves," she said as the grunts all rushed down to the hall, waiting for their victims.

"Walrein, Blizzard!" I shouted, throwing my pokéball through the air, the hinge bursting open as a large aquatic pokémon landed in front of the grunts, facing the hallway, and letting out a huge blast of snow and ice from its mouth, a wall of ice suddenly appearing at the bottom of the doorway. "And now, you're stuck with me," I said, the wall progressing up the doorway, sealing off the two ends of the center, the grunts and the trainers all stopping just before hitting the wall.

"You are going to regret that, scum," the Admin said, cracking her knuckles as she returned Houndoom to her pokéball, walking towards me with her fists out, ready for an actual fight. "I don't like it when my plans get ruined by a worm like you."

"Believe it or not, that's not the worst thing I've been called," I said, the Admin letting out a wild yell while rearing her fist back, and thrusting it towards me, the connect with my jaw just barely grazing me, but still with massive amounts of pressure nonetheless. "Okay, unexpected."

* * *

Without warning, the Admin continued to throw punches at me, barely giving me any room to dodge at all, her constant attacks, punches or kicks, flung at me with amazing control and speed. Even as Jaeger jumped up to her, she quickly ducked under my partner, pushing him off to the side in the same movement as she threw a punch to my gut, the added pressure throwing me across the room, against the ice wall beside Walrein. Able to look up for only a second, I saw Flaming Rose dashing after me with a single leap, spinning around once with a kick.

As I braced myself for the attack, I could hear the impact the kick, but that was only it, a sound, no pressure, no pain, nothing. As I opened my eyes, I could see the Admin kicking into the ice wall, the pokémon from the other grunts keeping Walrein and Jaeger too busy to deal with. As I struggled to get to my feet, the Admin saw me move out of the corner of my eye, and then give a quick spin kick to the side of my face, forcing me back down. All I could hear from where I lay was the sound of a single deep breath being taken, and another wild shout from the Admin as the loud impact was deafening to either side of the wall. For a moment there was silence, but only for that moment, and then the first crack appeared, snapping through the air, almost like someone's bones being broken.

From that single crack, the breakage in the ice began to spread throughout the face of the wall, the trainers on both sides beginning to step out of the way, Jaeger and Walrein both stopping to stare at the entire structure crumble to the ground. There was a silence roaming through the air, nobody quite sure what to think of this woman, barely above twenty, having broken down a wall of ice thick enough for her to stand within. She gave an evil grin as she held up her hand, everyone's nerves beginning to tense up, and when she waved it down, all hell broke loose.

Every single grunt in that Center ran inside the hallways of the Pokémon Center, chasing after the trainers inside; some of them barely starting out on their journey, and while they were old enough to take care of themselves, nobody should have to go through the pain of being hurt for a stupid reason. I was still on the ground, barely able to move my body as their Admin looked down at me with a condescending smirk on her eye. She had hit more than one nerve point, making it almost impossible for me to move, and she was well aware of this fact, jabbing me in the side, the intense pain like a raging fire within my body. As I let out a shout of pain, she was clearly enjoying this, kicking me off to the side with Jaeger and Walrein rushing to me.

"This is how the world should truly be," Flaming Rose said, looking into the hallway; I couldn't see anything, but the grunts, shouts, and pained screams were nough illustration for me. "Men are such arrogant creatures to think that they were meant to rule this world. I hardly see how they're capable if they run from a bunch of girls," she said as I shifted my position, angling my head into the hallway; punches being thrown, limp, unconscious bodies thrown to the side, and glares being shot in every direction. "None of the teams you've heard about were willing to do what needed to be done. Well, I guess I should join in on the fun," she said, leaving me there, Jaeger's anger reaching the boiling point, the cold air Walrein provided being comfort enough.

"Walrein," I started, the water and ice type looking down at me. "Help them," I said, motioning to the back hallway with my head; probably the only join I could move at this point. Walrein didn't seem to like the idea, but then again, I understood. "That Admin is afraid of something. She was so determined to break that ice, and yet she used none of her pokémon to do it. It's not that she's afraid of ice, but she was so adamant about beating you, I think she'll battle you without worrying about anyone else. So go," I commanded, my Walrein hesitantly nodding before sliding itself across the floor, Jaeger and I doing our best to keep me still.

* * *

Back in the middle of the hallway, the Admin began looking from side to side, seeing almost every male trainer in some kind of wrestling hold, receiving punches to the face, gut, or other areas, or thrown off to the side, broken and defeated. Walking towards the side rooms, she forced the doors open with a single kick, the occupants jolting at the sudden entrance; most of them female, making her smile as she turned around in the room back to the doorway, but not before looking back at them with a large smile, her teeth looking like fangs.

"Just remember they promised to protect you," she said, the girls all looking confused. "Fat lot of good that's doing you now, huh? Of course, if you want to have the real power, the ranks of Amazonia will always be extended," she said, walking back out, turning to the deeper end of the hall, barely dodging under a blast of ice from either side of her.

"We aren't letting you get any further," Diana said from the opposite end of the hallway, Tundra, her Glaceon, staring down the Admin from in front of its trainer, and Walrein staring her down at the same time. "If you want to get out of here in one piece, then just leave now, and stop this senseless violence. Otherwise, me and Rose might have a few things to discuss with you."

"Got that right," Rose said. "Nobody gets off hurting Axel bad, and gets away with it," she said, her Cyndaquil, Mitsuru, tensing itself with its back set ablaze.

"HA!" the Admin shouted. "Like you could ever defeat me in battle. Only that blubber filled beast has any chance of beating me, and without its trainer, its less than useless. Show 'em how it's done," she said, throwing two pokéballs into the air, and having another pokémon jump out from the hallway, one behind her, and two in front of her; the two in front of Tundra and Mitsuru, the Houndoom from before, and her Nidoqueen; the last one, jumping out from seemingly nowhere, a Lilligant. "Lila, make sure blubber boy doesn't get any fancy ideas," she said, her Lilligant giving her a quick salute before facing off against Walrein.

Without any kind of indication, Houndoom and Nidoqueen were the first to make their moves, the dark and fire type sending out a quick blast of fire at Tundra, and the Nidoqueen thrusting its fist forward at Mitsuru. Behind it, her Lilligant, Lila, began spinning around uncontrollable, eventually setting off a quick tornado of loose petals, all concentrated on Walrein. Quickly, and without second thought, both Diana and Rose thrust their pokéballs towards their pokémon, and threw another two capsules into the air, both of the attacks from the two front line pokémon failing to have any effect. Just after the attacks impacted with the ground, both of the two girls' pokéballs hit the ground releasing Rose's Rufflet from earlier and a small water type from Diana, a Piplup. The sight of the water pokémon instantly made the Admin, who had shown such confidence and strength, recoil back focusing her eyes on it.

"How did you get your pokémon back?" she asked. "I know you had your pokémon all placed in the Center's healing unit, so why are they here with you?"

"Things tend to get a bit tense when windows start to break, and it's a quick walk to the back of the Center; not like we were gonna let Axel have all the fun," Rose explained, the Admin turning behind her with her eyes wide open at the sight of Walrein forcing back her Lilligant's attack; the constant use of Ice Beam, and her Petal Dance continuing to send debris flying from all kinds of places. "It looks like we have the upper hand now."

"Don't count on it, Shorty," the Admin said, snapping her finger, Lilligant suddenly letting go of the attack, the sudden release, making Walrein's Ice Beam continue forward, Flaming Rose dodging with a quick angling of the head. "Rule number one of battling, never show weakness, and always have a plan," she said, the Ice Beam attack rocketing to Rose's Rufflet, hitting the bird pokémon out of the sky, and forcing it back to the ground. "Rule number two; always use your opponents against each other."

Quickly returning Rufflet to its pokéball, Rose looked at the other two pokémon, seeing Diana alone, but Mitsuru wouldn't be able to battle either of those pokémon, and she had one other. Reaching for its pokéball, Rose looked up at the Admin, the terror she elicited making her move her hand away, barely able to look at her without shaking out of fear. To the side, Diana saw this, and reached for another of her pokéballs, quickly tossing it into the air, the blast of white light making way for the third of her pokémon, skittering back and forth across the makeshift battlefield; a Vibrava. With both of Diana's pokémon ready for battle, the Admin gave the order.

Without a spoken word, both Houndoom and Nidoqueen made their attacks at Diana's pokémon, the trainer pulling her hand back quickly, Piplup jumping into the air, spinning around like a top with a film of water beginning to cover its body. With a raise of her other hand, Diana's Vibrava began to vibrate its wings, rising above Piplup, and then released a constant blast of Dragonbreath. With the water around it, keeping it from being hurt, Piplup's rotations began to become more and more violent, the propulsion of Vibrava's attack launching directly forward, it's Whirlpool attack projecting outwards at both of the pokémon in front of Flaming Rose.

At the moment of impact, both the Admin's Nidoqueen and Houndoom were quickly caught up in the constant rotation made by Diana's Piplup. Forcing her to move back, Flaming Rose pulled out both of her pokéballs to return Houndoom and Nidoqueen, the red beam saving them from any further damage. Backing into her Lilligant, the Admin looked over her shoulder to see Walrein still staring at her, not attacking, but seemingly blocking the way. Gritting her teeth at the situation, the Admin snapped her fingers, another Petal Dance coming from Lila, covering them both, and at the end of the attack, neither of them were to be found.

"Does this mean they're gone?" Rose asked, looking out at the hallway, but found all of the grunts that had come with her still doing their job. "I guess no, huh?"

"My guess is that she just used a retreat tactic to regroup before she tries anything else," Diana said, looking at Rose, seeing the third pokéball she could've used, but was too scared to do anything. "The Flaming Rose is the most boastful of any of the Administrators in Team Amazonia. She not only creates it, but she also projects fear into others if they don't have the same confidence as her. It's not your fault for not fighting back. She's been training her pokémon for much longer than we have. But why is only Axel's Walrein, here?" she asked, looking out at the water and ice type, Rose looking down the hallway.

"You don't think they got him, did you?" Rose asked, Diana not sure what to think, looking from side to side, the only thing visible were the silhouettes of people either trying to rise up from the ground, were being pushed to it. "What do you think happened to him?"

"If he's lucky, a few broken bones," Diana said, making a quick sprint through the hallway, making sure nothing had truly happened.

* * *

From where I was sitting, I could hear everything that happened; girls have loud voices, what else can I say. And while some parts were still fuzzy from the battle between Diana and this Admin, I could definitely figure out the result. I don't know if it was the fact I could hear more water being used rather than fire, my Ice Beam attacks constantly firing, or it could've been the fact that she was back in the lobby area with me, staring down at me with an angered look in her eyes, but then again that could've meant anything; she always did seem a bit cranky.

She didn't say anything, just looked down at me with disgust, her Lilligant staring down at Jaeger, giving it a similar look, but it could've just been trying to copy its trainer as a form of flattery. Her pokémon seemed to have a bit more sunny disposition than she did, and it showed in that she shot us a glare that her trainer did; even Jaeger noticed, never growling at the grass type. She kept pacing around me in a semi-circular pattern given I was pushed to the wall, and looked down at me, never saying anything, and that was the worst part. The name-calling, the brash attitude, the constant boasting were all things I could've lived with; heck, I was already dealing with it with Rose, I should be immune by this point.

"You keep interesting company," she said; she was either mocking me in some kind sick way, or genuinely confused by Rose and Diana. "The two of your companions are strong in some way, and they choose to travel with a scumbag like you," she said, pressing her foot to my forehead. "I don't see the reason, but that's not my job. I'm only here to finish the job I've been sent for."

"So you didn't initially come here to beat the living daylights out of me?" I asked jokingly; she wasn't amused. "I could tell from the way you finished me off earlier; if I was the real target, you'd have put more muscle into it, and it's why I know a few more things about you," I said, repositioning myself to keep from cramping up too much before she would beat on me again. "A trainer's psyche and motivation are usually based on what happens before they begin training, and from what I gather, you didn't have the greatest home to be raised in. Abusive father, no doubt," I said with a smirk, receiving a quick kick to the jaw again that almost knocked me over. "If I really were to take a stretch, I'd say it was more than just being your dad's punching bag, wasn't it?" I asked, a punch to my gut was what came next.

"You have no idea of who I am, or what I'm willing to do," she said, making me raise a questioning eyebrow to her. "What now?"

"Team Amazonia is the only evil organization I've met in my training career that wasn't after an unrealistic goal that had something to do with the control of legendary pokémon," I began. "It's a simple group with a simple goal; radical feminism. You prove that woman can be stronger than men by being violent, voicing your opinions louder than others, and training pokémon beyond what should be possible in two to three years of training. Your reasoning's are flawless when you present them, and it makes people join you because they make sense, but when someone comes along and disputes your belief, you turn on them with violence, and it proves to others that the stronger person is you. Your much more of a threat than any other team I've ever seen."

"Men have ruined the world for women, and it's our job to show them what they can really do," she answered, raising her fist to her chest level. "Tell me we're wrong for that."

"Never said you were wrong about your beliefs, I just don't appreciate your way of going about it," I said, about to receiving another blow. "But talking to you people about this is worthless. You have your own set of social morals, and they override anything you're told; I won't tell you you're wrong about anything, but I won't let you hurt people for being born with a Y-chromosome. There's more to it than that, isn't there? You're here, after something specific."

"You were an underlying factor for why we came here, but there are other reasons," she admitted, one of them painfully obvious to me, no pun intended. "Men like you are so weak to not appreciate the beauty of where you stand, and things tend to be easier for you all when you have another person to do it for you."

"You plan to take over this Pokémon Center, and refuse the entry of all male trainers?" I asked, Flaming Rose not confirming it, but that didn't mean she was denying it either. "On the face of it, it sounds more than ludicrous, but then again, I've seen stupider plans by Team Magma and Aqua. There's only question you have to ask, though, when you're considering what you're going to do," I said, Flaming Rose looking down at me.

"And what's that?" she asked.

"Why are all my pokéballs open on the ground?" I answered for her, Jaeger sneering at her and her Lilligant; Dodrio, Shedinja, Swalot, and Camerupt all coming out of their capsules, staring down at her with Walrein sliding in from the back room just before Rose and Diana. "See, the thing I was able to figure out about you is that violence has ruled your life, and consequences are never thought about; you were too busy beating on me, you didn't see my pokéballs flying off waiting on a timer to come open," I said, all six of my current pokémon giving her a threatening look. "Now, what do you say we start this over from the beginning, and get the rest of you out of here?" I questioned, the Admin backing up with Lila standing in front of her.

As I struggled to stand up back on my feet, I leaned myself back up against the wall, standing amongst my pokémon as the Amazonia Admin stared into my eyes, no longer eliciting the same fear she did to Rose earlier, but instead were filled with even more anger. Instead of ordering her pokémon, the Admin stepped out in front of it, holding up her fist ready to fight; the only question was who. She made the first step, quickly jumping over Jaeger, my partner giving a commanding bark at the others, Dodrio pecking at her with all three of her heads, each one dodged, Shedinja acting like a fixed cannon, constantly throwing Shadow Balls at her with increasing speed, quickly being ducked under, but was led towards Swalot's open mouth. In mid slide, her hands pushed off of the ground, flipping over both my poison type and Camerupt, the fire and ground too lazy to fight, but was left standing in front of Walrein.

At the sight of it, though, she merely hesitated, the rest of my pokémon about to jump in, seeing me hold up my hand to keep them from progressing any further. She didn't move for a few seconds, the imposing figure of the giant water and ice type staring her down made her recoil a bit as I showed of another wide smile to her, making her cringe even more with her fist closed in.

"The last thing I gleaned from you," I began, patting Walrein's side. "You're afraid of water types; you made it a personal goal to beat down Walrein's ice wall with your bare hands; not giving a though to using your pokémon like Houndoom to do it. When people try to break out of fear, they tend to face it three different ways, short bursts at a time, gradual exposure, and complete, enclosing experiences with it. You were way too obvious. As long as I have Walrein, your fear will be too much for you to bear," I said, already knowing her anger was reaching a boiling point, taking a quick step back, and jumping back into the air.

With a single tumble through the air, the Admin had straightened her leg out towards me, but with one major flaw in it. Her fear from my water pokémon caused her to keep her eyes on it; helps to stay away from something, so her attack was easily seen through. Moving to the right by merely a step, I looked down at her form, landing on the ground, making me grin again, my strength slowly coming back to me. Instantly standing up, she threw another punch at me, her eyes still staying fixated on Walrein, making sure it didn't come any closer. To be honest, it was almost pathetic to watch; it was a common type, and encompassed almost every possible type combination; made me wonder how hard she had to try in order to look tough.

"You coward!" she shouted at me, seeing me keeping the smug look on my face while patting Walrein's side. "Why not fight me with the supposed pride you men are so quick to protect?"

"Because my pride isn't gonna keep me from a month long stay in the hospital," I answered flatly. "Besides, it's just easier to do things this way. Call me underhanded, but sad truth of life is the old saying 'he who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day.' So you can call me a coward all you like; I prefer to think of it as being a survivor," I continued; her mood not exactly brightening up, but then again that would be an exercise in all kinds of futility. "Besides, if you were as strong as you claim to be, you'd be able to beat up all these guys by yourself, right?"

* * *

That must've been the last straw given that she went ballistic at my comment; letting out a roar kinda like a Persian on steroids, dashing at me with her fists ready to attack, not even bothering to look at Walrein, her eyes literally focused only on me. After making a quick jump at me with her fist outstretched, and a desperate dodge from me, she sped past my other pokémon, kicking off the wall next to her, and running back at me. This time stretching her arm outward, she hooked me around the stomach, making me feel more than a few things about to come back up. I almost fell to the ground, but I don't know if she was going to offer such sweet bliss.

If I had to compare what I had felt when she punched me under the chin, it'd be to one of those old fighter games when everything moves in slow motion for the killing move. I seriously thought my jaw had come out of place, holding it in pain as I fell back down to the ground, hearing the sound of two of her pokéballs opening; a Nidoqueen and Houndoom stepping out. She seemed to be challenging me outright, but even then, she didn't want to give me a fair fight.

"I'll kill you if you won't battle me," she said, and it wasn't just a threat; I did believe she was capable, physically and mentally, of murder. "Now stand up, and prove to me you have actual power!" she shouted, commanding me to my feet, Diana and Rose trying to help me, a fireball cutting them off from where I was, shot from her Houndoom. "Nobody interferes; if he's as strong as my subordinates say, he should be able to battle on his own!"

"I refuse," I said, standing up, returning Walrein to his pokéball, the Flaming Rose looking at me with angered disbelief. "I won't battle against someone who uses their anger as power. That's my own moral. If they don't battle with respect, they're not qualified for pokémon."

"You dare mock me!?" she shouted out, casting out her hand, commanding her Nidoqueen to attack; the poison and ground type launching a fist at me, but suddenly fell down to the ground, the Admin looking back and forth seeing Jaeger at my side, his paw covered in the dark shadow of his Sucker Punch attack. "And you claim to refuse my battle."

"I did nothing; Jaeger acted on his own accord, and while I won't commend it, I won't deny him his right of protecting who he cares about," I said, leaning back against the wall, and falling to the ground, turning my four other pokémon to their own pokéballs. "I won't give you the satisfaction of a battle, but I already told you, that if you were to ever try and hurt anyone that I could see, I will stop you." She said nothing after that; part of me hoped it was the end, but anyone with half a brain knew it wasn't with her.

"Enough with this," she said, holding out her hand with both of her pokémon letting out a low growl. "Make an example of him." And with that, they came at me; Diana and Rose about to run towards me, offering some kind of protection, only for Houndoom to ward them off again, keeping them from doing any kind of good.

* * *

"Are you done just watching?" I asked, a small chuckle heard from behind the desk to my right. "With everything that's been going on, I'm surprised you were asleep for so long," I said, looking out over at the front counter, a shining blue sphere being launched, twisting its path to knock the Houndoom over, having it fall in front of Nidoqueen, tripping the poison and ground type over onto Houndoom. "Seriously, does everything have to be a show with you?"

"Only when it makes me look good," the voice said; male, definitely, and not a voice I liked to hear all too often as he came out from behind the counter, a mid-sized pokémon jumping out from the same place, and in front of both Houndoom and Nidoqueen, its spiked hands already preparing another Aura Sphere attack; a Lucario. "C'mon, dude, you had to know that one was coming. Ario, don't go too hard on them, okay. Make it interesting, spontaneous, unmistakinable. That last one might not be a word; so sue me," he said, as I rubbed my temples out of sheer frustration.

"Who the heck is that?" Rose asked, looking down at me, knowing at least that I knew him from somewhere. "Is this an old friend of yours from back in the Purge?"

"Back in the Purge, yes, old friend, not so much," I said, the smile on his face enough to creep me out for weeks. "His name is Zachary Hues, and from the way his Lucario is looking, I take it you already took care of the others in there?" I asked, looking in the hallway, seeing just as many unconscious Amazonia Grunts as there were male trainers.

* * *

I'd known Zachary for about three years during the last stages of the initial Purge, and let's just say we don't have a whole lot in common, minus the training duration, and skin tone. Zach was noticeably shorter than me, standing only at about five foot six, so around the same height as Rose, and wasn't as strong as I was; most of his muscle attachments in the areas he used while training. His hair was a similar color to Flaming Rose, much shorter, and spiked along the ends, giving him the basic interpretation of most guys today. His eyes, completely contrasting from his hair, were a bright blue, and weren't something I liked looking into. His wardrobe was like mine, simple; a pair of black running shoes, blue denims jeans, and a red t-shirt worn directly over a black-longed sleeve shirt, his Lucario, Ario, not Jaeger's favorite pokémon.

* * *

"So, let's get this going," Zach said, Ario throwing another Aura Sphere attack at both of the Admin's pokémon, Houndoom trying to jump up over it, the fighting type merely moving its hands to direct the attack. "I don't think your Houndoom was raised properly, otherwise it'd know to defend, rather than dodge an Aura Sphere," he said, a grunt heard from his opponent.

As the Aura Sphere struck Houndoom underneath his body, the dark and fire type fell back down to the ground, just no on its feet like it was planning to do, leaving the Nidoqueen to be the one to stare down the steel and fighting mix. With a single raise of its fist, the poison and ground type thrust it into the ground, a small tremor ringing out, with its strike being the epicenter. With the Earthquake attack shaking the entire area around the Pokémon Center, Rose, Diana, and I did all we could to keep from letting anything put us in the crossfire of any attack, Zach and his Lucario, Ario, looked forward with no change in their expression. After the final wave stopped finally, the Flaming Rose stood in complete disbelief that his pokémon was completely unshaken; bad pun, I know, but what do you want. Without another second of pause, Ario rushed forward with his fist outstretched, a small chill in the air. In the next second, I saw the Nidoqueen falling in front of its trainer, showing her shocked face with Lucario coming back into a standing position, his fist still encased in the Ice Punch.

"How did you…?" the Admin began saying, her fists trembling with anger as she looked upwards at Zach, seeing his usual smirk on his face.

"Sometimes things get too complicated, and we forget some of the most simplistic tactics that pokémon can use," he said, sitting down on the counter with Ario still standing in front of Flaming Rose, keeping his hand up in case she tried anything else. "Pokémon can survive any move if you just take the time to make the necessary precautions, like the move Detect for example," he said, the Admin's eyes shooting open. "Lucario are unique pokémon in that they can all make use of the basic natural energy Aura, and when they use moves like Detect and Protect, they can automatically use the Aura to create a necessary barrier, or levitate momentarily. Sometimes it's a hard maneuver, but when you've trained as long as I have, it becomes second nature," he said, turning away from the Admin long enough for her to make another lunge at him.

"Stupid kid; I'll kick that grin right off your face," she said threateningly, but in the quietest way possible, only held back by Ario's single grunt, nothing more than that, keeping his hand held to her body, the beginning parts of an Aura Sphere in his palm.

"I really wouldn't try," Zach said, turning back around to face her, a piece of fruit in his hand, and partially in his mouth. "Any trainer who's had their pokémon for more than a year should know how protective they can be. So, even you have the brain power to know it's not a good idea. My suggestion would be to get the hell out of dodge, or whatever this place is. I've been gone for a while, so my sense of direction is totally fried."

Somehow, my opinion of him wasn't changing as much as I think he hoped. Sure, he was a strong battler, but there was always something about the way he carried himself that made anyone want to drive a fist into his stomach. But the Admin got the message, swearing a single world before turning around, looking out at the door, turning to both Zach, and myself, pointing at both of us, and at our pokémon, her Lilligant copying her as it always did.

"I'm not finished with either of you two just yet," she declared, Ario grunting again to warn her off, and Jaeger downright growling at her to keep her away. "When we see each other again, you won't have such smug expressions, mark my words."

"Give me a pen, and I'll have it notarized," I said from where I was seated as she made another loud curse before kicking out the rest of the glass that made up the door. "Well, that should keep us off their hit list for a few more seconds," I joked, both of my travelling companions sharing in my amusement, Zach giving a smirk.

* * *

She was gone; the other Grunts still left slightly conscious following after her, making me look out into the hallway, seeing if any of the male trainers were hurt beyond repair, seeing most of them rising off the ground, more of them annoyed that they were beat up by girls than anything, so they were fine. My attention, though, was more towards Zach, seeing his smirk from where I was seated, both Diana and Rose looking at him with a thankful look, about to walk up to him, until I stopped them, of course.

"That's a little cold, Koehler," Zach said; needless to say, we weren't on the best terms, at least both ways. "Don't you think you can be a bitter about things. If anything, you should be grateful I came along when I did, because if I hadn't, you'd be tenderized like a bad tomato."

"Maybe I could get myself thrown at you, then," I said, standing up, turning back around into the hallway. "This is neither the time nor the place for remembering old times; one of you call the ambulance for a regular hospital, some of these guys are gonna need it," I said, looking down at some of the first to get beaten; obviously they got tired as they moved along. "If you've been here so long, why didn't you come out and help us when we really needed you? When people our own age, but about as green as were back then, were getting pounded to a pulp by people like that," I said, not trying to guilt him into apologizing, but more towards just plain fact.

"Told you, gotta make an entrance to create the perfect effect," he said, that condescension making me go crazy with anger. "Look, I'm sorry that people had to get hurt in all of this, but if I had just come out when that glass shattered, I'd have ended up just like them, and you'd be sifting through my dead body right about now."

"Too bad it didn't happen," I said, turning back to the guys that were more hurt than others, some of the ones left a bit stronger easing them into a standing position. "There's a reason why a lot of us were planning on sending you out first when the Purge was getting more serious."

"What happened to you two?" Rose asked, standing in between us, Diana over by the phone, trying to get a hold of the hospital a few blocks down. "If you were both in the Purge, doesn't that make you like soldiers in a war; there should be a bit of camaraderie in all of this, don't you think?" she asked. I couldn't get too mad at her, Zach's and my relationship was strange for people who had been together for a time in the Purge, but there were things I wasn't willing to speak about.

"People weren't always affected in the same way during the Purge as some of us," Zach said, looking over at me, making me acknowledge the fact he was right. "And for some of us, we weren't all for the idea moving on in our lives as much as others. Sound like anyone we know."

"If you're not hurt, then you're either helping us, or getting the hell out of here, Hues," I said; it'd been the first time I used a derogatory term in at least three years, but the conditions were still the same, he was in here. "I'd rather not have my companions waste time on a person who finishes everything with violence; nothing else."

"In all fairness, you started it with the same act," he said, Rose and Diana stopping in what they were doing to look at me. "Did you really think that starting an entire revolution wouldn't come without consequences? Everyone looked up to you in the Purge, and now you just wanna run off to your home where you can stay safe for the rest of your life. Uh-uh, I'm not putting up with something like that. You still have the fire in you, I can feel it. You're not done training pokémon, Koehler, and neither am I. I expect to see you at the doors of that gym tomorrow, and if you're not there, just be sure to say that those rough chicks didn't hear your whereabouts from me," he said; obviously blackmail. But it was working to an extent; I wouldn't battle, but I'd be at the doors, and if he's not satisfied, it's his problem.

* * *

With the broken glass all around the doorway, the sounds of footsteps approaching were more than obvious, the person not so recognizable upon first glance, looking at us with large, expressive eyes, the kind that draw you right in. The only thing I could glean from what I saw was that I knew them; either it was the manner in which they presented themselves, much more reserved than Zach, might I add, or the long white hooded coat, trailing to the ankles. My entire vision of what he looked like was destroyed in a few instants. Nalin, the gym leader of this town.

* * *

Nalin was, just as Rose described him yesterday, like a child, and much younger than I really expected him to look. He couldn't have been more than twelve or thirteen; the way he walked all closed in, the expression in his eyes, and the paleness of his skin. He stood at only about five feet flat, if that, a Victreebel following after him, towering above him, probably capable of eating him. His hair was a woody kind of brown, and about as long as I kept mine, his having a gentler feel to it, the difference being I actually looked like a guy. His eyes were a dark forest green color, further confirming his grass specialty, and extremely approachable, if there were any other way to put it. Most of what he wore was hidden under his coat, which seemed more and more like a lab coat if there was no hood, a pair of dark brown cargo pants, and a long sleeved green shirt with the sleeves reaching out past the sleeves of his coat.

* * *

"I just hear about what happened, is everyone all right?" he asked, probably not realizing he was uncovered, but based on the stares he was receiving, I think he caught on pretty fast, looking up as high as he could, eventually feeling around for his hood. As his face became a deep red color, he instantly put the hood back on his face. "I-I'm sorry, I don't normally go out without the hood on," he admitted, something we could all figure out, but at least he was being helpful. "Nepenthe," he started, his Victreebel reacting at the name. "Help them."

A few minutes after, the ambulance cars came through, the less damaged people easing the few with broken bones into the trucks, Nalin's Victreebel carrying another within its vine, the pint-sized gym leader seated down next to me and Rose, my partner barely able to contain herself while looking at him underneath the hood. Apparently there was some kind of physical attraction, but it may have had more to do with his overall age, and the way he acted. He noticed this as well, sticking closer to me as she leaned in next to him, Diana even trying to sneak in a few peeks as well, but that might have had more to do with the fact she was a girl; something I will never understanding, and happy for it, let me tell you. The last of the ambulances left, taking the Amazonia grunts with them, where they would get their treatment, and then their sentence.

"So, how late was I?" Nalin asked, looking a bit depressed in the way he was unable to do anything except offer help afterwards. "It probably wouldn't have been so bad if I heard about this sooner," he said.

"I wouldn't beat yourself up about it too much," I said, looking over at Zach who was only getting a few bandages from the doctors on site; I refused the help. "There were some of us who could've helped earlier, but were apparently too busy planning an entrance," I said, making sure Zach could hear, his face having the same smile, but there was definitely irritation in his eye.

"Do I want to know?" Nalin asked Rose, my friend shaking her head as an answer. "Ah. Oh, if you want, I can help you with the bruising," he said, reaching into one of the deeper pockets of his coat, pulling out a small test tube with a rubber stopper in the top. "This will help keeping some of the swelling down, and if you take it again in the morning, your pain and bruising won't have to be so noticeable."

"Where'd you get that?" I asked, Nalin placing it in my hand, and closing it around the glass.

"I made it," he said, Rose, Diana, Zach, and I all looking at him with disbelief. "The only reason I was made the gym leader of Hibiscus City was because my older brother was in charge of it up until a few months ago. He and I were always into botany as kids, and after a while we started to come up with ways to help people with it. That's a really simple medicine we made, and we've tested it on ourselves a whole bunch of times, so it should work. Just drink it."

Skeptical until the very end, I removed the cork and tilted the tube into my mouth, letting the green liquid flow past my throat; a definite, and extremely unpleasant aftertaste in my mouth following. Almost coughing it up, I cringed as the last of it found its way down into my system, Nalin looking at me with an expectant look, almost like he wanted me to give it a rating.

"I'll let you know in the morning," I said, still cringing as I returned the cylinder. "Wait, you said you took over the gym from your brother a few months ago, so what happened to him?" I asked, Nalin suddenly turning away, obviously not willing to answer my question, making him turn back around towards the door, calling for his Victreebel, Nepenthe. _"When we saw him earlier, he was trying to find some place to learn more about Team Amazonia. If he wanted to be here earlier to help, and feels about being late, that can only mean a few things."_

At any rate, my train of thought was quickly derailed, Zach walking by me, patting my back as hard as he could, and giving me his normal, toothy smile. "Well, it looks like this ended as it always does with us. You start if off, and I finish it. Seems to me like I've been cleaning up most of your messes since we started travelling together," he said as I brushed off his hand, both of my current partners looking at me at the information he was giving, making me turn away from them. "I guess this guy doesn't tell you a whole heck of a lot, huh? Yeah, we met up when I was coming out of the Sinnoh Region, and we travelled for a while together in Unova, but I guess things got out of hand for both of us."

"What happened?" Diana asked, looking at me directly.

"Nothing worth repeating," I said, promptly walking back into the hallway towards the room I had rented, sunrise being in a few hours, and absolutely no sleep gained. _"Zachary Hues is the most dangerous person that I've ever met. Even if we did go through the same experience, how did we end up so different from each other? I kinda liked hanging out with him in Unova, but something happened that made him make me look pathetic,"_ I reminded myself, swinging down on the bed with Jaeger climbing up onto the top bunk.

* * *

I stayed there for several minutes, just thinking about what had happened, and why I had to meet up again with Zach. At the moment, I wasn't sure which was worse, the mixed martial arts Admin from Amazonia, or the guy I used to travel with who I never wanted to see again. But there were things I couldn't deny about him; he was a better trainer than me in terms of power. He was always stronger than me in battle, and that was a truth I could never deny. But saying that to myself reminded me of something; the old fortune teller in the shop earlier that day.

"_Your future be uncertain, but I see even more pain in the same way. You will be taken away from a friend, and you will fight to save that life. You will also meet someone soon unlike anyone you ever meet. They strong like you, but the imprint be weaker, and that person will be stronger."_

Not so much about the first part, she did say I would meet another person who was stronger than me in some way. Meeting up with Zach again wasn't exactly like pairing me up with Rose or Diana. The imprint she talked about was how much we let the Purge effect us; and I'm not going to deny that I let it get the better of me in more than one situation. Either way, I met him, and that's all she wrote; nobody ever said anything about battling or whatever, and I would never do that again when it came to him.

What intrigued me more, though, was Nalin. A thirteen year old in charge of an entire gym; three years below the international average for training in general, let alone to be at that advanced stage in his pokémon. But when I brought up his brother, he was obviously avoiding the subject, but then again, lost siblings are generally a hard gap to fill in. Rose would be battling him, for sure tomorrow, and Diana would be coming along so she could learn more about Team Amazonia, and as for me, I had to prove to three people that I'm stronger than I make myself out to be; Zach, myself, and, well, we'll leave the last person out of the equation for the time being. Tomorrow would be an interesting day for sure, but chances were I wasn't going to like everything of what would happen, and what more of Team Amazonia, what more would I have to do to protect the ones close to me? Guess I'll have to find out, until next time.

* * *

Characters:

Axel Koehler: Mightyena (Jaeger), Dodrio, Shedinja, Camerupt, Swalot, Walrein. Other Pokémon TBA. NightFall00

Rose Parrish: Cyndaquil (Mitsuru), Rufflet, other Pokémon TBA. Jordan Cross

Diana Rosson: Glaceon (Tundra), Piplup, other Pokémon TBA. Cyanide the Sneasel

Zachary Hues: Lucario (Ario), other Pokémon TBA. Jexo

Team Amazonia:

Flaming Rose (Codename): Lilligant (Lila), Houndoom, Nidoqueen, other Pokémon TBA. Twilightcrystalflame

Gym Leaders:

Nalin (Grass): Victreebel (Nepenthe), Gloom, other Pokémon TBA. DayBreak99

* * *

Chapter three complete. Well, there you, go sorry it took a little bit longer to update this one, but hopefully you liked it, and are waiting for more. So with this chapter, we introduce the characters Flaming Rose, an Admin in Team Amazonia with a violent temper, Zachary Hues, an old "friend" of Axel's from the days of the Purge, and a little after, and we officially meet the gym leader of Hibiscus City Gym Nalin, a thirteen year old botanist and pharmacologist that isn't even as tall as a Victreebel (5' 7"). With this chapter, we go into the first battle chapter, where it is mostly about the battle, and not the short little ones I present to you, but if all goes well, this chapter should be updated before I go to school in exactly one week from today. I'll be able to write somewhat when I get there, it all depends on my schedule and how engrossed I'll be with X and Y. Well, thanks for reading, and until next time, ja nee.

Chapter four preview: It's the first gym battle of the region, and Rose is all set for it, but when it comes to battling a person like Nalin, just having the type advantage in two ways isn't enough to win. And with the secrets of Zach, Axel, and Team Amazonia come to light a bit more, things begin to heat up for the main characters.


End file.
